RAJASTHAN

Hours after Rajasthan Chief minister Ashok Gehlot met Sonia Gandhi, his former deputy Sachin Pilot also met the Congress interim chief late on Thursday evening.

Ending all speculation, embattled Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot announced on Thursday that he would not run for Congress president in the aftermath of the succession fiasco in his state.

As showcause notices were shot off to the Congress leaders in Rajasthan following a rebellious move by MLAs supporting CM Ashok Gehlot, they are figuring out how to respond to them even as they reaffirm their support for the party's high command while taking a mellowed stance.

In the show cause notices to Rajasthan cabinet minister Shanti Dhariwal, party chief whip Mahesh Joshi and Rajasthan Tourism Development Council (RTDC) chairman Dharmendra Rathore, the Congress dubbed their actions as an "act of grave indiscipline".

BJP leaders have said that the internal crisis in the ruling Congress is impacting the development in Rajasthan.

Amid the ongoing political crisis, urban development and housing minister Shanti Dhariwal on Monday accused senior party leader and state in-charge Ajay Maken of conspiring to remove Ashok Gehlot as the Chief minister of Rajasthan.

A day after the high drama in Rajasthan, Rajasthan Congress in-charge Ajay Maken and Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge met party interim chief Sonia Gandhi on Monday.

The ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan has threatened to derail the Congress's dream of revival, and may have broader implications at the national level, as Ashok Gehlot supporters were adamant in their choice of candidate for Rajasthan Chief minister.

The supporters of CM Ashok Gehlot are not ready to budge on the choice of the chief minister, should Gehlot become the president of the Congress party.

Rajasthan Public Health Engineering Department has approved tenders for a ₹69.58 crore plan for the restructuring works of the central transfer main pipeline of the Bisalpur pipeline.