Ashok Gehlot becomes Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Sachin is co-pilot
Rahul Gandhi chose veteran Congressman Ashok Gehlot to be appointed as Rajasthan Chief Minister for the third time. He prevailed over the last-minute resistance mounted his junior colleague, Sachin Pilot. This was three days after the party wrestled the state from the grasp of the BJP.
Following two days of intense brinkmanship, Congress president Rahul Gandhi capped the process of consultations with a final chat with Ashok Gehlot and State Congress president Pilot. Pilot relented and accepted the post of Deputy Chief Minister in the proposed Gehlot government.
But Jyotirafitya Scindia, who lost the post of Chief Minister to veteran Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh is learned to have refused the job of deputy CM that was offered to him.
Gehlot is quite popular among the masses across the caste lines. He is the face of the Congress campaign as the implacable rival of BJP mascot, Vasundhara Raje. Pilot, on the other hand, steered the state unit for five years. He felt that it was through his efforts that Congress was resurrected after its decimation in 2013.
In the wake of the clash over chief ministership, Rahul held multiple meetings with the Rajasthan duo over the last two days with even Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra getting involved. Slogans in Delhi and -protests in Rajasthan Pilot supporters added bitterness to the stalemate and put pressure on all camps to settle the issue early.
Congress party president, Rahul Gandhi appeared conscious of the fact that the face-off between the leaders and the accompanying media coverage had conveyed a sign of division at the top of the state leadership.
Ashok Gehlot has been appointed as the new Chief Minister of Rajasthan over Sachin Pilot. Was this decision made b the Congress party a step in the right direction? What do you think?
