The political drama in Rajasthan is expected to gather steam on Wednesday, a day after deputy chief minister and state Congress president Sachin Pilot was removed from his posts for staging a revolt against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Pilot is expected to address a press conference at 1pm on Wednesday to respond to the allegations levelled against him. Gehlot and other Congress leaders have claimed Pilot had colluded with the BJP to pull down the Congress government in the state. Pilot and a group of MLAs loyal to him went to Delhi last weekend after the Special Operations Group of Rajasthan Police issued summons to him as it was probing allegations of BJP attempts to destabilise the Gehlot government.
It is yet unclear whether Sachin Pilot will use the press conference to lay out the plans for his political future. Sachin Pilot's camp has claimed repeatedly he would not join the BJP. "Though the BJP has made no official comment about any political negotiation with Sachin Pilot, he has spoken to some leaders from the saffron party," PTI reported on Tuesday night. Multiple BJP leaders on Tuesday had 'welcomed' Pilot to join the BJP.
BJP meeting
Meanwhile, the BJP is expected to hold a meeting on Wednesday in Jaipur to discuss the political situation in Rajasthan. The meeting will, reportedly, be held at 11am.
News agency ANI reported that the meeting will be attended by former chief minister Vasundhara Raje. "BJP leaders also held a meeting on Tuesday, which was attended by state chief Satish Poonia besides Om Mathur, Gulab Chand Kataria and Rajendra Rathore," ANI reported.
Interestingly, Vasundhara Raje has maintained a silence on the political situation in Rajasthan. Raje, who commands sizeable following in the state and has had a uneasy relationship with the party's central leadership in the past, has refrained from speaking on the political affairs in Rajasthan so far.
Regional outfit plan?
It had been reported earlier this week Pilot and his loyalists will float a new outfit, to be called the Pragatisheel Congress. Some media reports even hypothesised that he could become chief minister with outside BJP support.
