Rahul Gandhi will pick a chief minister between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan
The suspense over who will be the chief minister of Rajasthan will continue for one more day as party president Rahul Gandhi is expected to announce the pick between old warhorse Ashok Gehlot and state party chief Sachin Pilot tomorrow.
The Congress is the largest party in Rajasthan with 99 seats -- one short of a majority -- and the BJP stopped at 73. The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), an ally of the Congress, won one seat. Together, they have 100 seats, which is the majority mark. A Congress delegation met Rajasthan Governor Kalyan Singh this evening to stake claim to form the government in the state.
The 99 newly-elected Congress lawmakers met this evening and passed a one-line resolution leaving it to Rahul Gandhi to take a final call on the leader of the Congress Legislature Party, who will go on to become the chief minister.
"Whatever the lawmakers have to say they will say in the meeting and the final decision is left to the Congress president and other party leaders. We will take a call today," Mr Pilot told reporters.
Yesterday, Congress celebrations were splintered between the supporters of Mr Pilot and Ashok Gehlot.
They both said the Congress leadership would decide and they would abide by Rahul Gandhi's choice.
Next year's national election may have a huge bearing on that decision.
Sources say the Congress is weighing a formula that will keep both leaders happy, since it is the combined strength of both that has brought the party this far. The party cannot have any of the two upset at this stage.
Such a formula may involve positioning one leader in Delhi for a national role, leaving the other to manage Rajasthan.
Voting was held in 199 of the 200 seats in the state on December 7. Election to Alwar's Ramgarh constituency was countermanded due to the death of the BSP candidate. The votes were counted on Tuesday.