Sachin Pilot will decide what to do after meeting with BJP chief JP Nadda, sources said.
New Delhi:
Rajasthan’s deputy chief minister, Sachin Pilot, who has declared an open revolt against Congress, demanding the support of 30 deputies who could overthrow the Ashok Gehlot government, is expected to meet with BJP chief JP Nadda on Monday, sources said.
Pilot, who is camping in Delhi after organizing his party for another state collapse just three months after losing Madhya Pradesh to the BJP, refused to attend a key congressional meeting convened by Mr. Gehlot Monday.
Instead, he is likely to meet with JP Nadda and any future course of action will be decided after the meeting – if that happens, sources said, indicating that Mr. Pilot might be on the verge of crossing.
The BJP has been on hold during the ongoing crisis in the Rajasthan Congress and will await the outcome of the show of force between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot before deciding on his next course of action, party sources said on Sunday.
Gehlot called a meeting of Congress MPs on Monday, which should give a clear indication of the support he and Pilot have in the legislative group.
Pilot, who is also president of the Rajasthan congress, is said to be in contact with some BJP leaders, but party sources declined to say whether he had had discussions with him.
Assistants to the head of Congress do not deny a dialogue with the BJP although they say that negotiations are not active.
A BJP chief said the rebel congressional leader appears to have “made up his mind” and does not seem in the mood to come to terms with the leadership of Mr. Gehlot.
A statement issued to Mr. Pilot’s team said that the Congressional government led by Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan is now in the minority.
In the past year, the BJP has come to power in states like Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka thanks to the defection of congressional deputies and other rival parties.
Former Congressman Jyotiraditya Scindia was instrumental in the overthrow of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh and joined the BJP with his supporters later.
Mr. Scindia and Mr. Pilot have long shared a warm personal relationship, and the former tweeted Sunday in support of the leader of Rajasthan with a knock on the Congress.
