Kochi: Even as decks are cleared for the coronation of Sachin Pilot as the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan, supporters of the present Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are divided on the matter.
Even as Gehlot is a formidable candidate for the post of party presidentship, the presence of Shashi Tharoor and Maneesh Tiwari has made the contest highly competitive.
Gehlot wants someone from his camp to become Chief Minister so that it would be easier for him to manage things if he loses or wins the party election.
Gehlot faction brands Pilot a sympathiser of the BJP which had come close to snatching him away from the Congress a few years back.
Senior central leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Makan are busy persuading the disgruntled leaders to soften their stand towards Pilot so that the crisis of leadership would be solved for the time being. Any failure to install Pilot on the top spot would help BJP to play spoilsport.
Speaker C P Joshi is making all efforts to grab the post as he had been trying for it since 2008. Pilot has talked to Joshi in the presence of other MLAs and reports are there that Joshi might not create problems for Pilot who has the support of Gandhi family.
On the other hand the party does not want to annoy Gehlot who supports the candidature of Joshi.
Photo Credit: Facebook