Ashok Gehlot out of Congress president race: How it happened

Following the open rebellion of Congress MLAs on Monday in Rajasthan, NDTV has broken the news that Ashok Gehlot is no longer running for the post of Congress president. 

Earlier, the PTI reported that the Congress high command had sought a report from state observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken on the rebellion in Rajasthan Congress. The two leaders were in the state on Monday to attend a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting were the MLAs were to elect a new chief minister. 

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Around 80 MLAs did not attend the meeting and instead gathered at Gehlot’s residence while openly rebelling against his decision to quit. As the deadlock became unresolvable, the chances of Gehlot becoming the Congress president also thinned.

Now, reports say that Gehlot is out of the race and Digvijay Singh and Kharge are the new favourites. 

The NDTV report states that the Gandhis were upset with Ashok Gehlot for “plotting a rebellion” as MLAs openly agitated against the 71-year-old’s resignation. The Congress top brass reportedly interpreted the incident as “an embarrassment”, especially at the time of its mega event Bharat Jodo Yatra.

The conflict between the Congress central and state leaderships brewed in Rajasthan with the rebel MLAs holding a separate meeting. The two observers had told PTI that they saw their action as “indiscipline.” They had gone to Rajasthan to oversee the elections of Gehlot’s successor, but they came back with a written report on the rebellion after the high command explicitly asked for it.

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The decision to remove Ashok Gehlot as a candidate for the Congress president’s post came after Maken and Kharge submitted their report. It is likely that Congress will take action against the rebel MLAs, especially Shanti Dhariwal and Mahesh Joshi.