Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot met Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday amid buzz of expanding his cabinet to bring down the curtains on a protracted power tussle with Sachin Pilot which has been a headache for the top brass as the party struggles to quell internal squabbles across states.
A day earlier, Gehlot met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the residence of Rahul Gandhi, where party general secretaries Ajay Maken and K C Venugopal were also present. A major reshuffle in Rajasthan is on the cards in the next few days and various modalities are being worked out by adopting the formula of “one man, one post” while considering appointments in the cabinet, sources have said.
After the meeting, Maken told reporters, “We discussed the political situation in Rajasthan. We discussed a roadmap to ensure that the Congress returns to power in the next assembly elections.” “We also discussed the Congress’ good performance in the recently concluded assembly by-elections in the state,” he added.
Maken, who is the general secretary in-charge of party affairs in Rajasthan, said there were a number of issues that were required to be discussed with the chief minister and the roadmap is now clear.
The cabinet expansion in Rajasthan is overdue as many in Gehlot’s rival camp are seeking accommodation in the cabinet. Recently, Pilot too had met Priyanka Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi to discuss his future as well the accommodation of some of his loyalists in Rajasthan cabinet.
The Congress managed to save the state government in Rajasthan after Pilot had rebelled against Gehlot last year over differences. He was later removed as the deputy chief minister and replaced as state Congress chief by Govind Singh Dotasra.
After a leadership reshuffle in Congress-led Punjab, which saw veteran leader Captain Amarinder Singh quit the party in a huff, a political stir had erupted in Rajasthan as supporters and loyalists of Pilot demanded a leadership change in the northwestern state too.
Mahesh Sharma, former PCC general secretary and Pilot loyalist, had then said the grand old party formed a government in Rajasthan due to Pilot’s hard work and he should be given a chance to be the Chief Minister.
Sources in Delhi had earlier told CNN-News18 that at least four MLAs from the Pilot faction are likely to be inducted as Cabinet Ministers in the Ashok Gehlot led cabinet soon.
Including Gehlot, there are 21 members now in the Rajasthan ministry and up to nine more can be accommodated. Similarly, there are vacancies in party units at the district level.
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