After nearly a month-long political turmoil, Gehlot on Wednesday said whatever misunderstanding occurred within the party in the last one month should be forgiven and forgotten in the interest of the country, state, people and in the interest of democracy.

As per the reports, the Congress crisis in Rajasthan ended after the intervention of the party top leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who met rebel leader Sachin Pilot earlier this week.

Last month, Pilot along with 18 other Congress MLAs rebelled against Gehlot triggering a political crisis in the state. He was then removed as deputy chief minister and the party’s Rajasthan unit chief.

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Nearly 102 MLAs are supporting him and could be shifted.

This month, Gehlot was faced with a surprising revolt, led by his former deputy Sachin Pilot. The young Turk took nearly 20 of his loyalists camping in Haryana announcing that Gehlot had lost the majority in the 200-member strong Assembly.

Congress tried ironing differences with Pilot, but he remained stern and was eventually sacked.

Gehlot repeatedly claimed that Pilot is working with BJP to topple his government. Reiterating his allegations, Gehlot said that the rate of MLA has gone up since the Assembly session was announced.

“After the assembly session was announced last night, the rates of horse trading have increased. Earlier the first installment was of Rs 10 crore and second was of Rs 15 crore. Now it has become unlimited and all know who is doing horse-trading,” Mr Gehlot told reporters.

After prolonged tensions with the CM, Governor Kalraj Mishra agreed to convene the session from August 14.Reportedly, Gehlot could hold a trust vote on August 17 and want his flock to stay together till that happens.

Interestingly, Pilot’s camp would also attend the session.

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Earlier, Governor Kalraj Mishra had said that the Assembly would not be allowed to be convened in Rajasthan in the face of the COVID-19 threat. Last week, the MLAs along with Ashok Gehlot gathered at the governor’s residence but he was not ready to change his stand. The Congress had alleged that the BJP was playing political drama with the support of the governor. Finally, on July 27 the governor changed his mind. Permission was granted on the condition that the assembly could be convened only if the government gave 21 days’ notice.

It was at this juncture that Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi withdrew his petition in the Supreme Court against the High Court’s move against the dissident MLAs. The speaker, who was steadfast on his stand that he would disqualify dissident MLAs, was seen withdrawing from legal action for the time being.

Weeks after the start of Sachin Pilot’s revolt against Ashok Gehlot, there is no sign of an immediate end to the drama, let alone new dramatic developments unfolding from day to day. Even though the Congress has so far rejected the legal move in the Supreme Court, they are facing another legal battle. The BJP has filed a petition in the Rajasthan High Court against the merger of six BSP MLAs in the Congress 10 months ago.

The political drama has been further complicated by the fact that the BSP leadership has given a whip to its six MLAs asking them to vote against the government if there is a no-confidence motion in the Assembly. Gehlot claims the support of 103 MLAs, including the six BSP MLAs. Without their support, the government is sure to fall.

There is now complete uncertainty as to whether the Congress-led government, which came to power with sufficient popular support, will be able to stay in power in Rajasthan. The governor, who had secretly vowed to give Gehlot a chance to prove his majority, has now unexpectedly changed his mind. The Congress will have to work doubly hard to secure a vote in favour of Gehlot in the Assembly.

The Congress must drudge to overcome the BJP’s tactics of seizing power even if it does not win elections. With its money power, the BJP is the strongest force in the post-election horse-trading.

With the BJP’s insurmountable party machine and the immense ‘money’ it possesses, J.P. Nadda does the magic of a footballer who scores goals even in the most impossible situations with Amit Shah in the shadows. It remains to be seen whether this footwork will be repeated in Rajasthan.

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