Congress in Rajasthan united to face trust vote
The Congress government in Rajasthan led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is all set to face a vote of confidence on Friday when the state Assembly convenes, and the party high command has asked Sachin Pilot to ensure that the MLAs loyal to him vote for the Gehlot government. Earlier, the Opposition BJP had said that it would move a no-confidence motion in the Assembly.
Congress sources said Gehlot would also seek a trust vote as it would give his government immunity from a similar move for the next six months. If the Chief Minister moves a confidence motion, under the rules it will supersede the no-confidence motion moved by any other member.
On Thursday, Pilot buried his differences and met Mr Gehlot for the first time after he openly rebelled against the senior leader around a month back.
Party leaders K.C. Venugopal, Avinash Pande, Randeep Surjewala, Ajay Maken and new PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra were also there at the meeting, held at Mr Gehlot’s official residence in Jaipur, and posed for pictures together.
Pilot and Gehlot shook hands, marking the return of the sacked deputy chief minister and 18 other dissident MLAs properly to the party fold, after the intervention earlier this week by the top leadership of the Congress in New Delhi.
Sources said that at the meeting, Venugopal is understood to have told the two leaders to ensure that the government lasts its full five-year term.
Pilot is understood to have said at the meeting that he was deeply hurt by the FIRs against him and the subsequent personal comments made against him by the chief minister, to which Mr Gehlot replied that he had just been trying to save his government.
The meeting with the leaders was followed by the Congress Legislature Party meeting, where sources said Mr Gehlot expressed his desire to seek a trust vote on the first day of the Assembly session itself.