New Delhi: Hours after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced he would not contest the Congress Presidential elections, former deputy chief minister and his bete noire Sachin Pilot met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi to discuss the events in the state and expressed his sentiments on the situation on Thursday.
“I met Congress president today. She listened to me calmly. We held a detailed discussion on whatever happened in Jaipur, Rajasthan. I told her my sentiments, my feedback. All of us want to win the 2023 polls (in Rajasthan) by working hard. We'll have to work together,” news agency ANI quoted Pilot as saying.
“Whatever decision has to be made in the context of Rajasthan, will be taken by her...I am confident that in the next 12-13 months we will once again make a Congress government through our hard work,” he added.
It is to be noted that earlier in the day, Gehlot said he would not contest the Congress Presidential elections after taking "moral responsibility" for the political crisis in his state.
This comes close on the heels of an open rebellion by Gehlot's loyalists over a possible leadership change in the state, that raised the possibility of Pilot taking over as Chief Minister, as the senior leader had announced he would contest the Congress Presidential polls.
Notably, on Sunday evening, a large number of Rajasthan MLAs, who were opposing Pilot becoming the next chief minister, refused to attend a Congress Legislative Party meeting scheduled at CM Gehlot's residence in Jaipur, in the presence of party's central observers Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge.
Instead, they held a parallel meeting at the residence of state cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal, who is a staunch supporter of Gehlot.