Amid Rahul Gandhi making it clear that he expects 'one person, one post' norm' will be maintained, Congress has called a meeting of its Legislature Party in Rajasthan on Sunday evening, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is all set to file nominations for party president post.
The Congress High Command has appointed Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as an observer along with Ajay Maken, party General Secretary and in-charge of the state, to attend the meeting of Congress Legislature Party (CLP) on Sunday at 7 pm.
It is not clear whether a decision on who will be the next Chief Minister in Rajasthan will be taken at the meeting or whether the CLP will authorise the party president to take a decision.
This is the second CLP meeting, which will be held at the Chief Minister's residence after Gehlot called a meeting on September 20.
The meeting comes against the backdrop of Gehlot agreeing to quit Chief Ministership if he is elected as Congress president. He has expressed his reservations over his bete noir Sachin Pilot becoming his successor but the Congress High Command is favouring the young politician.
Rahul Gandhi is learnt to have conveyed to Gehlot that Pilot has the leadership’s backing.
For Gehlot, conceding space to Pilot in Rajasthan despite becoming Congress president is unthinkable as it would be perceived as diminished clout in the party apparatus.
Gehlot is likely to prop up senior leader and Rajasthan Speaker C P Joshi or his loyalists B D Kalla or Shanti Kumar Dhariwal against Pilot. Interestingly, Joshi was at one time considered close to Rahul and acted as a sort of mentor to him in his early political days.
(Published 24 September 2022, 20:33 IST)
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