Amid a renewed effort by his rival Sachin Pilot to assert himself in Rajasthan Congress's scheme of things, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Monday embarked on a three-day exercise to collect feedback on governance issues from party legislators as also the independent MLAs supporting his government.
The initiative to hold one-to-one meetings with the MLAs is being viewed as a show of strength by Gehlot amid the ongoing tussle for power with Pilot and an assertion of his firm hold on the party and the government in the state.
Along with Gehlot, AICC in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and state Congress president Govind Singh Dotasara are meeting the MLAs to collect feedback from them. According to the programme announced by the state Congress, on April 17, meetings were to be held with MLAs from Ajmer and Jodhpur regions, on April 18 with legislators from Udaipur, Kota and Bharatpur and on April 20 with those from Jaipur and Bikaner divisions.
On April 19, the party will hold a workshop with the MLAs as also office-bearers in the state unit in which issues related to the Assembly elections that are scheduled to be held in December would be discussed.
The meetings are significant since they happen in the backdrop of the renewed activity with regard to the tussle for power between Gehlot and Pilot and the central leadership's efforts to resolve the matter. So far, the party high command has given indications of backing Gehlot and going into elections by focusing on the welfare measures taken by his government. However, the party leadership also does not want to alienate Pilot and efforts are on to find a middle path.
Meanwhile, Pilot is touring Shahpura in Jaipur division and Khetari in Jhunjhunu on Monday. He took part in a Mahayagna at the Parmand Dham in Shahpura. He was accompanied by MLAs Indraj Gujjar and Vedprakash Solanki as also local Congress leader Manish Yadav. The event was seen as a show of strength by Pilot as it was attended by thousands of people. Pilot's journey from Jaipur to Shahpura saw numerous stopovers to meet supporters who had gathered to meet him in large numbers.
