That is the primary time the 2 communicated for the reason that “insurrection” by Congress MLAs on Sunday.
His bete noire Sachin Pilot arrived in Delhi at the same time as former Union minister Pawan Bansal set the hearsay payments buzzing after he picked up two copies of the nomination type, the primary individual to have completed so since Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor.
Congress sources say that whereas there are indications that Gehlot should be open to the concept of a Delhi transfer and a resignation from his present put up, he’s eager that MLAs have a say in his successor. Prime sources say that he’s anticipated to satisfy Sonia within the subsequent couple of days and that could possibly be a sign of a thaw.
However, the Congress management appears to again on the drafting board with Sonia having met former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath on Monday and one other confidante, a now retired A. Okay. Anthony, confirming to tv channels that he’s on his technique to Delhi from Kerala. Congress Central Election Authority (CEA) chairman Madhusudan Mistry, too, met Sonia on Tuesday. He’s stated to have submitted a listing of delegates who will vote within the upcoming presidential polls.
Kharge and fellow central observer Ajay Maken have submitted report back to Sonia recommending motion towards some MLAs.
Congress circles, in the meantime, are swirling with names of putative president hopefuls regardless that none have up to now expressed that hope other than Digvijay Singh who had informed a reporter, “Why isn’t my title being mentioned”, apparently in jest.
Among the many different names doing the rounds are these of common secretary Okay. C. Venugopal and Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief of Opposition within the Rajya Sabha and one of many two observers who reached Jaipur over the weekend to supervise the assembly of the Congress Legislative Get together that finally by no means occurred. However senior Congress leaders say no matter what form the president race finally takes, the social gathering now faces a dilemma.
“The largest take a look at in all this for the social gathering and the Gandhis is that in the event that they now go away Gehlot out of the race then the credibility of the presidential elections can be destroyed for all occasions to come back. Sadly this complete train of reconciliation has been vitiated by the truth that it’s happening on the recommendation of individuals, a few of whom have an interest events — they nurture hopes of being the social gathering president themselves. They’re actually spoilers and never course of builders. The management has up to now listened to just one aspect of the story,” stated a senior Congress chief.
Additionally Learn: ‘Congress insurgent’ tag, hazard to private ambitions — what’s protecting Gehlot camp on edge
Placatory noises
In Jaipur, MLAs from the Gehlot camp have now claimed that on the fateful day when the “insurrection” occurred, Gehlot was away on the Tanot Maheswari temple on the India-Pakistan border and didn’t find out about it in any respect.
“That day he was on the temple, I used to be additionally there with him. There isn’t any community there so we had no thought what was taking place. Folks began assembling in a single’s and two’s on the residence of [parliamentary affairs minister] Shanti Dhariwal and shortly the numbers swelled. He [Gehlot] solely bought to know later after they went to the home of Speaker C P Joshi. I have no idea what talks Gehlot saab has had with the Congress president,” stated minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas who was one of many three legislators who had met the AICC observers with the “calls for” from the MLAs.
The MLAs had set three circumstances 3 that they’d cross a decision empowering the Congress president to determine on the CM however that may solely come into impact put up October 19 as soon as a brand new president is elected, they’d meet the observers solely in teams and never individually and in addition that the brand new chief minister shouldn’t be among the many MLAs who had rebelled in 2020. The demand now’s that the brand new chief needs to be chosen from among the many 102 that saved the federal government when Pilot and 19 MLAs had rebelled.
Requested concerning the acceptability of Pilot, Khachariyawas misplaced his cool. “Why are you asking about him? Is he Lord Krishna that I ought to hold answering questions on him?” he stated and disconnected the decision.
Sources say the Gehlot camp is now making an attempt to change the notion that had been created by the “insurrection” because the battle now being between Gehlot and the Gandhis, with lots of them professing timeless allegiance to the Congress and its first household. Dhariwal in a press convention on Monday, had stated that the Congress president’s determination can be adhered to as “[Sonia] Gandhi is sort of a mom for all Congressmen.”
“It’s a good signal that Gehlot and the Congress president have spoken however one factor is for certain. Whether or not he information nomination or not, the notion of him being the candidate with the blessings of the excessive command has been severely dented and that does throw open the race for president, supplied there may be a couple of candidate,” stated one other social gathering chief.
To date, solely Tharoor has stated that he can be submitting his nomination papers on September 30. Sources additionally say that Bansal could have collected the papers on behalf of someone and never with the intention of filling them up himself.