Kamal Nath's CM post done-deal, ambiguity over Rajasthan's top-post persists
After scooping three major states from Bharatiya Janata Party in the recently concluded Assembly Elections, the Congress high command has another Herculean task at hand: choosing Chief Ministers for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. While in MP, senior leader Kamal Nath is tipped for the top post, trumping young Jyotiraditya Scindia, the battle in Rajasthan between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot has become murkier.
Nath has the support of MLAs
In MP, Congress fell short of the majority mark as it won 114 seats, but it has won the support of BSP and SP. Nath, Scindia and other leaders met Governor Anandiben Patel on Wednesday and staked claim to form the government. Congress MLAs prefer Nath over Scindia, IE reports. Notably, former CM Digvijaya Singh also threw his weight behind Nath.
It is young v/s experienced in Rajasthan
However, the war in Rajasthan seems to have not arrived at an end, with both camps refusing to concede. Young gun Pilot, whose work on the ground helped Congress go from 21 seats in 2013 to Congress+ winning 100 seats this time, deserves the CM post, his supporters believe. On the other side is experienced Gehlot, who has the support of independent MLAs.
Will Gehlot become the CM for the third time?
Six rebel-Congress MLAs met Gehlot on Wednesday with Ramkesh Meena, MLA from Gangapur, telling IE he gave support to the party on the condition that Gehlot becomes CM. "The Congress gave tickets to wrong people and that's why its tally went down. A party should not deny tickets to deserving candidates," he said. The decision will likely be announced on Thursday.
The ball is in Rahul Gandhi's court
All those in the race said they will respect the decision of party president Rahul Gandhi. Gandhi sent a pre-recorded message to party workers in all three states, through the internal messaging app Shakti, seeking their opinion. The workers' choice will be kept confidential. But Gandhi has to keep an eye on 2019 while deciding the next CM. He will have to balance caste and factional equations, sources told IE.
