Sachin Won’t ‘Pilot’ Rajasthan: Congress Appoints Ashok Gehlot As State’s Chief Minister

The Congress party, which wrested Rajasthan from the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) earlier this week has appointed Ashok Gehlot as the state’s Chief Minister (CM). The other prominent party leader in the state, Sachin Pilot, will serve as his deputy, the party has informed.

There had earlier been reports of squabbles erupting within the party over the CM post with several Pilot supporters earlier staging protests demanding his elevation to the top post.

There had earlier been reports of violent protests by Gujjars in several parts of the state, with the community having significant clout having completely consolidated behind the Congress in the recent elections. Not a single Gujjar candidate won from the BJP despite the party fielding nine of them. Pilot, who also belongs to the community, is seen as someone carrying forward the legacy of his late father, Rajesh Pilot.

Heavy security was earlier deployed at the Jaipur airport, Pradesh Congress committee (PCC) office and Raj Bhawan to maintain peace as the Gandhis - Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka - were engaged in hectic parleys with Congress functionaries.

Gehlot, also the AICC general secretary in-charge of the organisation, appealed to his followers to maintain calm and claimed that the party high command was in the midst of a democratic process to find a suitable person for the post.

For Gehlot, 67 year-old, this will be the third stint as the state’s CM, having earlier served the state from 1998 to 2003 and then from 2008 to 2013.