JAIPUR: The Congress party has gone in for a major overhaul in the faction-ridden Rajasthan. A reconciliation has been worked out between the factions led by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot.
Political observers see the stamp of Gehlot imprinted on the newly announced executive committee for the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee.
The 192-office bearers announced by the party include 21 vice presidents, 48 state general secretaries, 121 secretaries and 25 new district presidents. This was the culmination of a series of meetings and string-pulling in Delhi.
Pilot does have his own men on the committee with leaders such as Rakesh Pareek, Mukesh Bhakar, Rajendra Chaudhary, Suresh Mishra, Prashant Sharma, and Indraj Gurjar making it to the list.
This rejig in the Congress organisational wing is a significant development in the election year. It was getting delayed for the past many months due to the feud going on between the Gehlot and Pilot factions in the party. These appointments effectively put an end to speculations that Sachin Pilot, a prominent figure within the party, would once again assume the role of state president prior to the upcoming elections. It now appears quite likely that Govind Singh Dotasara will retain his position as the Chief of the State Congress till the assembly elections.
The buzz is that Pilot would leave state politics for the Centre and may well become AICC general secretary.
MLA Ved Prakash Solanki, who gained notoriety for his inflammatory statements lately, was excluded from the appointment list. Additionally, due to the "one person, one post" rule, several leaders were not appointed to new positions. This includes Ministers Mahendrajit Singh Malviya, Ramlal Jat, Govind Meghwal, Rajendra Chaudhary, Harimohan Sharma, former Minister Mangilal Garasia, and MLA Lakhan Singh Meena.