If not Sachin Pilot, here are main contenders for Rajasthan CM's post

The political impasse in Rajasthan over possible leadership change continued on Monday with MLAs loyal to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot remaining non-committal on holding a meeting with Congress top leaders.

Nearly 82 MLAs loyal to Gehlot, submitted resignation letters on Sunday over a possible move to appoint Sachin Pilot as the next chief minister. Congress has 108 MLAs in the House of 200.

Read | Pilot's supporters upbeat about his rise as Rajasthan CM as Gehlot decides to contest Congress presidential poll

The top leadership has been looking for options for the new chief minister in Rajasthan if Gehlot wins the Congress Presidential polls. However, Sachin Pilot has been seen as the main contender for the post, however, there are few other names apart from him that are probable to be CM of the state.

CP Joshi

CP Joshi is currently the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly Speaker. Joshi has been a seasoned politician in the state and has held the post of the Union Cabinet minister during the UPA’s rule at the Centre. He was elected as an MLA from the Nathdwara Assembly constituency in 2018. He had also contested the Lok Sabha elections from the Jaipur Rural constituency but was defeated by BJP.

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It was speculated that he would rather see Joshi --- or anyone else --- as CM rather than Pilot, who had rebelled against his leadership. The Gehlot loyalists had also visited his home after a long meeting at minister Dhariwal's residence on Sunday, saying they were resigning as MLAs.

Shanti Kumar Dhariwal

Shanti Kumar Dhariwal is the Parliamentary Affairs minister in the state and an MLA from the Kota North constituency. He has been assigned the role of a minister for three consecutive years with portfolios of the Urban Development and Housing Department and Law and Legal Affairs.

Govind Singh Dostara

Govind Singh Dostara is the Rajasthan Congress chief. He has been present in all the major events of Congress across the country. He was recently seen participating in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ with Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot.

Bhanwar Jitendra Singh

Jitendra Singh is among the few Congress leaders from the state who is close to top leadership in the Centre. A two-term MLA, Singh belongs to the royal family of Alwar. He also won from the Alwar parliamentary constituency in the 2009 general elections.

Also Read | Congress observers likely to return to Delhi, Gehlot loyalists to hold meeting

He also held a portfolio at the Centre as the minister of state for home affairs in 2011.

Govind Ram Meghwal

Govind Ram Meghwal is currently a cabinet minister for Disaster Management and Relief, Administrative Reforms and Coordination, and Statistic Policy Planning Department in the state government. He is also the vice president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee. Meghwal is one of Gehlot’s staunch supporters. He was first elected as an MLA from Nokha in Bikaner in 2003 and then again in 2018 from Khajiwala.

These are the few contenders that the party’s Centre leadership might be considering apart from Gehlot. Gehlot and Pilot were at loggerheads over the chief minister's post soon after the Congress won the Assembly elections in December 2018.

The high command then chose Gehlot as the chief minister for the third time while Pilot was made his deputy.

In July 2020, Pilot along with 18 party MLAs rebelled against Gehlot's leadership.