Ashok Gehlot on his way out; Sachin Pilot likely to be the new Rajasthan chief minister

New Delhi: Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot appears to be on his way out with the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) likely to elect its new leader on Sunday.

NewsDrum was the first to report what was transpiring following the Udaipur Chintan Shivir that indicated Ashok Gehlot's days as Rajasthan chief minister were numbered.

All indications available at this point in time suggest that Sachin Pilot is going to be the new chief minister of the desert state.

Taking to Twitter, Congress general secretary and in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal announced that the CLP will meet on September 25 at 7 pm. 

He also informed that Congress President Sonia Gandhi has appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge as the central observer. 

Kharge and Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken will attend the CLP meeting, bringing curtains to Gehlot's third term as the chief minister one year before the assembly elections were due in the state. 

Gehlot is likely to submit his resignation to Governor after the CLP meeting. He is expected to file his nomination papers for the elections to the Congress President's post on Monday.

The move to force Gehlot to resign before filing his nomination papers and not after getting elected as the Congress President was part of the Gandhi family's strategy to ensure a smooth transition of power and the installation of Pilot as the chief minister.

There were apprehensions that Gehlot might appoint one of his loyalists and not Pilot as the chief minister after getting elected as the Congress President. 

The other names doing the rounds were Speaker CP Joshi and ministers BD Kalla and Mahesh Joshi.