New Delhi: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will take a final call on whether Ashok Gehlot would hold the twin posts of party president and Rajasthan chief minister simultaneously or there would be a change of guard in Jaipur, said a senior AICC functionary on Sunday.
“The final decision on whether Gehlot Ji would continue to hold the two posts or if there would be a new chief minister would be taken by the Congress chief,” AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Harish Chaudhary, who is also a Rajasthan MLA, told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview.
The issue of who gets to head the Congress nationally and who will lead the party’s government in Rajasthan ahead of the 2023 assembly polls has been hotly debated within the party circles over the past few days.
While Gehlot, who has been asked by Sonia Gandhi to file nominations for the top party post, is most likely to win against his rival candidate and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor, the veteran had desired to retain both the posts.
However, after Rahul Gandhi said the party must follow the “one person, one post” principle strictly, Gehlot changed his tune and said that he was ready to drop the constitutional post.
“That may be the opinion of Gehlot Ji. He has only expressed his views. That is not his prerogative. That is the prerogative of the party and the party will take a decision. “One person, one post” is a thought but no decision has been taken on that. The final view would still be that of Sonia Ji,” said Chaudhary.
The remarks of the former Lok Sabha member from Barmer and currently the MLA from Baytoo came hours before a crucial meeting of Rajasthan lawmakers at Gehlot’s residence in Jaipur.
Sensing the controversy was turning serious, Sonia Gandhi deployed Congress veteran and the leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, to meet the state lawmakers on Sunday and get to know their preference over who should be the chief minister.
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Kharge is expected to convey the sense of the house to Sonia who will then decide the issue, said party insiders, adding that the MLAs may also pass a one-line resolution authorizing the Congress chief to decide on the chief minister issue.
The Gehlot camp would like to install a loyalist in case the veteran has to vacate the CM’s chair but the camp of Pilot also has been playing its cards well of late. On his part, Pilot had been pointing out that his focus was to ensure the Congress returned to power in Rajasthan in 2023.
There is a trend that the voters of Rajasthan change the ruling party every five years and this has led to a power swap between the Congress and the BJP over the past several decades.
The Congress lost the 2013 assembly polls when Gehlot was chief minister. Subsequently, Pilot worked hard as state unit chief to win the 2018 assembly polls but still had to remain content being the deputy of Gehlot, who was named chief minister again.
A loss of power in the state next year would send a negative signal to the voters ahead of the 2024 national polls and would demoralize the workers. “The state government has done a lot of work over the past four years. Our welfare schemes are being replicated by the other states. I am sure the party will win the 2023 assembly polls,” said Chaudhary.
On his part, Gehlot does not want Pilot to get the CM’s chair but many in the party support the young leader’s aspirations to helm the state government. A few days ago, UP leader Acharya Pramod Krishnam met Sonia Gandhi to push Pilot’s case.
“Of course, the final decision would be taken by the high command but I think Pilot should get his due,” Krishnam said.
Interestingly, both Gehlot and Pilot met with Rahul Gandhi, in Kerala during the ongoing Bharat Jodo yatra recently. The Gehlot vs Tharoor contest for the top party post has surfaced as Rahul is reluctant to file his nomination and wants a non-Gandhi to helm the grand old party.
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“I have not heard Rahulji say anything in public. We still want him to become the party president. We will appeal to him again. But if a contest takes place, it will be a fair election,” said Chaudhary.
Chaudhary, who is AICC in charge of Punjab, said he is preparing for December when the Rahul-led Bharat Jodo Yatra would reach the northern state.
“It will be the last leg of the yatra before it enters Jammu and Kashmir. We are making preparations for the yatra which will be in Punjab for around 13 days. We want to energize the entire state unit ahead of the yatra to welcome Rahulji. It will be very good for the party,” said Chaudhary.
“We are in the opposition but we have been trying to take on the ruling AAP on various issues like law and order and farmers’ plight. They came to power on the basis of tall promises but were unable to govern. Now, we will force them to keep up those promises. We are also revamping the district and block level teams in Punjab to regroup the party,” he added.
