Over Two days suspense over the choice of chief minister in Rajasthan finally came to end on Friday evening, with the Congress party after rounds of deliberations has chosen Ashok Gehlot as the new chief minister of the state. While Congress State Chief Sachin Pilot has been appointed as the Deputy Chief Minister in the desert state.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi finalized Ashok Gehlot’s name after repeated meetings at his residence in Delhi with him and other front-runner Sachin Pilot for the top post in the state on Thursday and Friday. Discussions were also held with Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi reportedly.
After rounds of discussion, Rahul Gandhi on Friday tweeted :
The united colours of Rajasthan! pic.twitter.com/D1mjKaaBsa
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) December 14, 2018
Five-time Parliamentarian, Gehlot met Indira Gandhi in 1971 during East Bengali Refugee Crisis. The then Prime Minister appointed Ashok Gehlot as the first state president of State National Students Union Of India’s (NSUI’s) President, a student wing of the party. The Current General Secretary of the Party has taken many responsibilities on his shoulders during his political career since the 1970s.
Congress General Secretary Ashok Gehlot who has served as the Chief Minister in the state from 1998-2003, and then in 2008-2013. Gehlot has won the 2018 polls from Sardarpura Constituency in Jodhpur, the home turf of Congress staunch supporter.
Earlier this week, The Congress on Tuesday unseated BJP’s Vasundhara Raje in Rajasthan Assembly Elections and registered a comeback by winning 99 seats out of 199 in the 2018 Assembly elections. The final tally saw BJP finishing second with 73 seats, CPI-M 2, BSP 6, Independents 13 and others 6.
Short of a majority by a seat, Congress has received support from RLD who have secured one seat in the state. On Wednesday, BSP supremo Mayawati also extended its support to Congress in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Samajwadi Party also said to support Congress in Madhya Pradesh.
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