Since exit polls on December 8, which gave Congress a majority in the desert state of Rajasthan, the question everyone asking is not who will win the state but who will be get the chief minister’s job. As the trends are showing Congress ahead midway into the counting of votes, a buoyed Congress is facing a problem that it did not have to deal in recent years.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi will have to choose between former Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, a veteran with vast political experience and Sachin Pilot, a new political force in Rajasthan Congress and face of young Congress turks which Gandhi himself represents.
After the trends of exit polls on Friday evening, senior leaders of the Rajasthan Congress met in New Delhi with National leadership to discuss the possibilities of government formation and next chief minister in the state. The issue of CM is the most contentious one as there are several claimants for the post with Gehlot and Pilot leading the pack.
Rajasthan Assembly Elections Results 2018 | Assembly Election 2018
As the trends indicate a majority for the Grand Old Party in the state, both the top contenders, Gehlot and Pilot, were engaged in hectic parleys with the Congress leadership through the weekend.
What works for Gehlot and his challenger Pilot
Ashok Gehlot is a former two-time CM of Rajasthan. He was promoted as Pradesh Congress Committee chief at the young age of 34. In 1998, the Congress picked him as its CM ahead of bigwigs like Paras Ram Maderna and Nawal Kishore Sharma. Though history could come to bite him back as 41-year-old Pilot in now the young gun and Gehlot is finding himself on the other side of the table.
Also Read | Rajasthan election result: Rahul Gandhi to decide who will become Chief Minister, says Ashok Gehlot
Test for Rahul Gandhi
Talking to reporters, Gehlot said that Congress President Rahul Gandhi and elected party MLAs will decide on who will lead the government in Rajasthan. Pilot too has expressed similar sentiments. The tussle between Gehlot and Pilot is also going to test the political acumen and ‘neta-management’ skills of the newly appointed Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Congress, after a series of defeats in recent years, is back to winning ways but success also has its share of problems. The balancing act will define the leadership of Gandhi.
