Congress observers expected to meet Sonia Gandhi today amid Rajasthan crisis

Congress observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken - who reached Rajasthan on Sunday to attend the legislature party meeting at chief minister Ashok Gehlot’s residence - are expected to meet Sonia Gandhi on Monday afternoon.

Rajasthan is witnessing a fresh crisis amid speculation over the successor of Gehlot, who is set to contest the presidential polls next month. With Sachin Pilot’s name doing rounds, scores of Gehlot’s supporters on Sunday submitted their resignations to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi. More than 80 MLAs are believed to have submitted their resignations.

The MLAs also conveyed their demands to the observers, stressing that the next CM should be chosen after October 19 once the presidential polls for the party are over, the Gehlot successor should be chosen from about 102 MLAs, who stood by the party during the 2020 crisis, and Ashok Gehlot should be kept in loop during the decision making. By referring to the 2020 crisis, they were reminding the party of Sachin Pilot's revolt against Gehlot when he went to Haryana. He later returned amid assurances from the top leadership.

Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Ajay Maken - on the developments - said: “We came for the CLP meeting fixed by the CM at a time and date of his choice. Very strange that MLAs didn’t come for that. We also wanted to follow the procedure of speaking to individual MLAs about what they want so that they can speak freely.”

"The condition that no announcement - on the chief minister - should be made before October 19 seems to be conflict of interest as resolution authorises the Congress president to take the decision, and by October 19, Ashok Gehlot would have been the Congress president," he further stressed.

Gehlot would have to leave the CM's chair under the party's 'one man, one post' rule.

Shashi Tharoor is the other frontrunner in the presidential poll race.