Three ministers with major ministries resigned from their seats ahead of a cabinet reshuffle by the Congress-led government in Rajasthan. Education minister Govid Singh Dotasara, health minister Raghu Sharma, and revenue minister Harish Chaudhary all resigned on Friday, according to state Congress in-charge Ajay Maken. The long-awaited expansion of the Rajasthan cabinet will take place on November 22 after the Congress high command gave its approval.
Dotasara, Sharma, and Chaudhary wrote to Congress president Sonia Gandhi about their resignation as ministers and their desire to serve the party, according to Maken, who arrived in Jaipur.
“The resignations have yet to obtain an official stamp,” Maken remarked. The chief minister, Ashok Gehlot, will receive the resignation letters first, followed by the governor. All three leaders are also members of the party’s executive committee.”
In New Delhi, Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot have met with top Congress officials, with the chief minister meeting president Sonia Gandhi last week.
At Rahul Gandhi’s home, Gehlot met Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was accompanied by general secretaries Ajay Maken and KC Venugopal. The group considered a variety of options, including following the “one man, one post” formula and exploring cabinet selections.
Pilot, too, met with Priyanka and Rahul lately to discuss his future as well as how some of his loyalists would fit into the new cabinet.
The move is significant because the Pilot faction believes he will be named CM before the state elections in 2023. Pilot staged an open revolt against Gehlot in July of last year, leading to his removal as deputy CM and panchayati raj minister. Vishvendra Singh, the tourist minister, and Ramesh Meena, the then-food and civil supplies minister, were both forced to resign.
At least four MLAs from the Pilot faction are expected to be admitted as cabinet ministers in the Gehlot-led ministry, according to sources in Delhi.
In an attempt to show some balance, the Congress appointed Pilot’s supporters to the party’s state executive in January. The reshuffle will now reflect not only Pilot’s position in Congress, but also the high command’s position.
There are 21 cabinet members in total, including Gehlot — 10 cabinet ministers and 10 ministers of state — with room for up to nine more. At the district level, there are also vacancies in party units.
Three ministers of Rajasthan Cabinet — Govind Singh Dotasra, Raghu Sharma & Harish Chaudhary — have written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, expressing their desire to step down from their posts & work in the party organization: Congress in-charge for Rajasthan, Ajay Maken pic.twitter.com/rXx75yCTgH
— ANI (@ANI) November 19, 2021
