Gehlot's swearing-in to full spectrum

Politicians across ideologies and parties will attend the oath-taking ceremony of Ashok Gehlot and his to-be deputy Sachin Pilot.

The ceremony will be held on Monday at the historical Albert Hall Museum in Jaipur.

Political heavyweights from different parties and ideologies will share the dais with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and former prime minister Manmohan Singh.

According to a press release by the Congress, the expected dignitaries include Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu, RJD leader Tejaswi Yadav, DMK president MK Stalin, JD(S) president HD Deve Gowda, LJD chief Sharad Yadav, National Conference chairman Farooq Abdullah and leaders of several other parties.

Gehlot had personally written a letter to Naidu inviting him.

The dignitaries from the Congress who have confirmed their presence include Rajeev Shukla, Kumari Shelja, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, Navjyot Singh Sidhu, Bhoopendra Singh Hooda and Jitendra Prasad.

Gehlot lashes out at Raje

Gehlot and Pilot took stock of preparations at the venue on Sunday morning. Speaking to media, Gehlot said, "Outgoing chief minister Vasundhara Raje was 'careless' about fulfilling people's expectations despite a huge mandate in the last elections."

"The ceremony will begin at 10 am. Security has been tightened. There will be separate entry for leaders, guests and media", Jaipur police commissioner Sanjay Agarwal told DH.

The Congress intends to make a nationwide statement of its tri-state victory through three ceremonies planned on the same day and Rajasthan's will possibly be the grandest of them all.

In Rajasthan, the Congress had bagged 99 out of the 199 seats that went to the polls to wrest power from the BJP in the state.