Jaipur,
Sep
25:
Ahead
of
the
Congress
Legislature
Party
meeting
on
Sunday
evening,
MLAs
considered
close
to
Chief
Minister
Ashok
Gehlot
met
under
the
leadership
of
Cabinet
Minister
Shanti
Dhariwal
in
what
is
seen
as
a
message
to
the
high
command
to
pick
a
Gehlot
loyalist
as
his
successor.

Gehlot
is
expected
to
quit
as
the
chief
minister
of
Rajasthan
if
he
wins
the
election
to
the
post
of
the
Congress
national
president,
as
the
party
has
a
‘one-man
one-post’ policy.
The
meeting
is
also
seen
as
an
attempt
to
thwart
the
possibility
of
senior
party
leader
Sachin
Pilot
being
made
the
next
chief
minister.

Some
participants
said
Gehlot’s
successor
should
be
someone
who
was
instrumental
in
saving
the
government
during
the
political
crisis
in
2020
and
not
someone
who
was
involved
in
toppling
it,
a
veiled
reference
to
Pilot.

Gehlot
and
Pilot
were
at
loggerheads
for
the
chief
minister’s
post
soon
after
the
Congress
won
the
Assembly
elections
in
December
2018.
The
high
command
then
chose
Gehlot
as
the
chief
minister
for
the
third
time
while
Pilot
was
made
his
deputy.
In
July
2020,
Pilot
along
with
18
party
MLAs
rebelled
against
Gehlot’s
leadership.

“If
the
decision
is
not
taken
keeping
the
MLAs’
sentiments
in
mind,
the
government
will
be
in
danger,” independent
legislator
and
advisor
to
the
chief
minister
Sanyam
Lodha
said
after
the
meeting.
Another
leader
Govind
Ram
Meghwal
said
Gehlot
can
shoulder
both
roles,
that
of
the
chief
minister
as
well
as
the
party’s
national
president.

He
said
if
Gehlot
does
not
remain
the
chief
minister,
the
party
will
face
a
major
trouble
in
winning
the
next
Assembly
elections.
The
CLP
meeting
was
scheduled
to
begin
at
the
chief
minister’s
residence
later
in
the
evening
in
which
Congress
observers
Mallikarjun
Kharge
and
Rajasthan
incharge
Ajay
Maken
will
also
participate.