Rajasthan Congress crisis continues with Ajay Maken's unwillingness to continue as incharge of state
Nov 16, 2022
New Delhi [India], November 16 : The crisis that began in the Rajasthan Congress on September 25 this year has taken a new turn. Now the annoyed general secretary in charge of the state Ajay Maken has expressed his unwillingness to continue in his post.
In a letter to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Ajay Maken stated that he does not want to continue in his post after the events of September 25.
In his letter dated November 8, Maken said that a new person should be given the responsibility before the Bharat Jodo Yatra enters the state and state assembly by-elections are held.
"I am a soldier of Rahul Gandhi. My family has decades of association with the party," he wrote.
On September 25, on the instructions of the then President Sonia Gandhi, Maken and Kharge went to Jaipur as observers. Then there was a buzz of Ashok Gehlot contesting the election of the Congress President. So, a meeting of the Legislature Party was to be held for the selection of the new Chief Minister, but a rebellious tone was adopted by the Gehlot supporters who opposed the candidature of Sachin Pilot. The meeting could not take place. The high command was miffed with the development in the crisis-hit state.
After this, show-cause notices were issued to three leaders. But even after a long time, no action was taken. Even after Gehlot apologized to Sonia Gandhi, organization general secretary KC Venugopal had said that a decision on Rajasthan Congress will be taken in the next two days. Still, the meeting of the Legislature Party could not be held again.
According to sources, miffed with all the developments, Maken decided to quit the post.
According to sources, the high command is unhappy with the behaviour of Gehlot's supporters, but Gehlot is currently the chief observer of the Gujarat elections. At the same time, he does not want to pose a risk to the Rajasthan government at this time.
In such a situation, the ball is in the court of the same Kharge who himself is the witness to the whole incident.
It is believed that the Rajasthan crisis will be the first major test of Kharge's organizational skills. Now they have to decide how to persuade Gehlot to hand over the command to Sachin or maintain Gehlot by taking care of Sachin. On the other hand, he also faces the challenge of solving the case of 'indiscipline' that took place on September 25.
To add to Kharge's troubles, Gehlot's grip on the MLAs in Rajasthan has also been reported by party sources to Kharge that, in the recent assembly elections, Sachin Pilot is the most in-demand leader after the Gandhi family. He is also engaged in campaigning in all the states. Along with this, he is also going to meet Rahul once again by joining the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra in Maharashtra.
