In a clear indication that senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot is in race for the chief minister's post in Rajasthan in the event of his party winning the upcoming Assembly polls, the former chief minister on Wednesday announced that both he and state PCC chief Sachin Pilot will contest the elections.
The surprising announcement from Gehlot came in response to a question at a press briefing at the AICC headquarters, with the Rajasthan veteran saying, “All senior Congress leaders will contest the elections. I will contest, and Sachin Pilot will also contest.” He also rejected the idea that there was any infighting in the state unit. “The reports of infighting in the Rajasthan Congress are baseless and spread by the BJP. We are unitedly fighting the Assembly elections,” he said.
Pilot, who shared the dais with Gehlot, said “After discussions with Rahul Gandhiji, it has been decided that I will fight the election, Gehlotji will also contest,” said Pilot.
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It is learnt that the party may not name a chief ministerial face in the state on account of strong contentions for it from both Pilot and Gehlot. While Pilot has been leading the charge in Rajasthan since he was made PCC chief four years ago, Gehlot continues to have a strong hold on the state unit of the party and enjoys popular favour, especially in rural areas. Pilot is learnt to enjoy the backing of Congress President Rahul Gandhi, and it is believed that the party chief would like Gehlot, who he appointed as AICC General Secretary in charge of Organisation, an important post in the Congress, to be more active at the central level.
However, today's announcement makes it clear that the 67-year-old Gehlot is in no mood to rule himself out of the race for the top job in case he wins elections, and will have an important play in the Assembly elections. The development is also in contrast to Madhya Pradesh, where none of the senior leaders are candidates in the state elections.
While Gehlot is expected to be re-nominated from his traditional seat of Sardarpura in Jodhpur, there is so far no clarity on where would Pilot be fielded from.
The Congress is fancying its chances in Rajasthan, where it is widely believed that the Vasundhara Raje-government is faced with huge anti-incumbency.
Meanwhile, in a crucial development ahead of elections, BJP MP from Dausa Harish Meena and party MLA from Nagaur Habib Ur Rehman joined the Congress on Wednesday.
