Kamal Nath vs Scindia, Pilot vs Gehlot: Rahul to decide today

December 13, 2018 07:55

Who will lead the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments will be decided by Congress president Rahul Gandhi today.

In both states, lawmakers held marathon meetings after which their leaders announced that the choice had been left to Rahul Gandhi.

The Congress won Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh in state elections seen as the last popularity test before the 2019 national polls.

The victory parties have been short-lived with intense lobbying behind-the-scenes for the chief minister's post in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.

In Rajasthan, the Congress is sharply divided between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot, even though both leaders have projected unity and smiled together in multiple photo-ops.

Sources say two-thirds of the newly-elected Congress lawmakers in Rajasthan have conveyed to the central leadership that they want Sachin Pilot, the 40-year-old state Congress head, to be chief minister.

In Madhya Pradesh, state Congress chief Kamal Nath is believed to be his leadership's choice but a conflicting picture has emerged after Jyotiraditya Scindia, the other contender for the top post, said he would be "honoured" to serve as chief minister. Both the leaders left for Delhi on Wednesday night and are expected to meet Rahul Gandhi on Thursday.

"I am a servant of the people, have always been and will always be. What form that will take, be it through Madhya Pradesh or as minister of central government or chief whip, it is for my party to decide," Scindia, 47, said, not ruling himself out.

While Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot contested and won the Rajasthan election, both Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia are parliamentarians and did not contest the Madhya Pradesh polls.

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