INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Madhya Pradesh went into a huddle with Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss who will be chief ministers for the two states
While Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia are being considered for the top post in Madhya Pradesh, the contenders for chief minister in
Rajasthan are Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot
At the Congress' legislature party meeting yesterday, MLAs from both states passed an order saying the final decision will be that of
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi
Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot reached Delhi this morning to meet Rahul Gandhi for a breakfast meeting at
Sources from the Congress say that a likely outcome may be that Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot would be chief ministers, while Jyotiraditya
Scindia and Sachin Pilot may be their deputies
The BJP too has arranged a marathon 7-hour meeting today where the results of the recently held assembly elections would be analysed
BJP chief Amit Shah has reportedly asked for a detailed report from each district of each states
The BJP would also discuss in detail the party's future plan of action keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP MPs, which will be followed by a seven-hour meeting of its key organisational leaders.PM Modi
addresses the BJP parliamentary party almost every week when Parliament is in session, but his speech today assumes more significance
following the party's losses in the assembly elections
The Assembly election results on Tuesday came as the biggest electoral setback to the BJP since it stormed to power at the Centre in
2014.Who As Chief Minister "Ask Rahul," Sonia Gandhi Said
His ResponseIn the middle of intense negotiations in the Congress for the top job in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, Sonia Gandhi, asked who
she thought would be chief minister, said: "Please ask Rahul".Her son and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi has the tough task today of deciding
chief ministers for the three big states won by the party on Tuesday."We are taking inputs from different people in the party - from MLAs,
from workers We are getting a comprehensive answer to what the Congress party and others feel of course you have to see a chief minister
soon," he told reporters as he left parliament to return to his party office to meet the two sets of leaders fighting for the chief
minister's post in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan - Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.On Wednesday, Rahul Gandhi
took the unusual step of sending an audio message to over two lakh party workers in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh and urging
them to use an app to reveal their choice of chief minister.Speaking to TheIndianSubcontinent, Rahul Gandhi said it was an attempt to
connect with the party workers and get them to communicate, and also an effort to find out who would be suitable for the top post.Sonia
Gandhi, who gave the party reins to her son after 19 years last December, agreed that he was attempting something "different and refreshing"
"An experiment, but this is a good experiment," she said.In the audio message, the Congress President asks workers to name their choice and
promises complete confidentiality
"Who should be the chief minister Please mention just one name
I'm the only person who would know whom you are naming
No one in the party will know
Please speak after the beep," he says
Rahul Gandhi's audio message to 2.4 lakh Congress workers, urging them to reveal to him - "after this beep" - their choice of chief minister
in complete confidence, reflects the party's challenging task after scoring poll victories in three big heartland states.On Tuesday, the
Congress president had said there would be "no issue" over chief ministership
"It will be done smoothly," he had said, in contrast to the intense lobbying that had already begun on the night of counting.Watch: Rahul
Gandhi's audio message to 2.4 lakh Congress workers Sources say two-thirds of the 99 newly-elected Congress lawmakers in Rajasthan, in a
six-hour meeting, conveyed to the central leadership that they want Sachin Pilot, the 41-year-old state Congress head, to be chief
minister.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
Such a formula may involve positioning one leader in Delhi for a national role, leaving the other to manage Rajasthan
In Rajasthan the Congress is confronting a tougher choice between state chief Sachin Pilot and two-time chief minister Ashok Gehlot,
67.Sources say Ashok Gehlot, an experienced warhorse, has emerged as the front-runner for party leaders with an eye on the 2019 national
election, but Sachin Pilot, credited with recharging the Congress in Rajasthan after its poorest show in state polls in 2013, is putting up
a fight.Jyotiraditya Scindia, who reportedly also wants the job, is likely to be offered the post of deputy
While Kamal Nath, 72, is the state chief, Mr Scindia's argument is that he has popular support
When TheIndianSubcontinent asked him yesterday whether he would like to be chief minister, the 47-year-old replied: "Absolutely, I would be
honoured to serve as chief minister."Watch: Jyotiraditya Scindia's interview to TheIndianSubcontinentRahul Gandhi is expected to take a call
on chief ministers in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan today after a meeting with two pairs of leaders fighting for the top job
Kamal Nath is likely to be named chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, where the party won a narrow victory in state polls, emerging as the
largest party but touching majority only with support from Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
PM Modi addresses the BJP parliamentary party almost every week when Parliament is in session, but his speech today assumes more
significance following the party's losses in the assembly elections
The Assembly election results on Tuesday came as the biggest electoral setback to the BJP since it stormed to power at the Centre in 2014
The BJP would also discuss in detail the party's future plan of action keeping the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in mind
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address BJP MPs, which will be followed by a seven-hour meeting of its key organisational leaders
The BJP too has arranged a marathon 7-hour meeting today where the results of the recently held assembly elections would be analysed
BJP chief Amit Shah has reportedly asked for a detailed report from each district of each states
Sources from the Congress say that a likely outcome may be that Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot would be chief ministers, while Jyotiraditya
Scindia and Sachin Pilot may be their deputies
Kamal Nath, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot reached Delhi this morning to meet Rahul Gandhi for a breakfast meeting at
At the Congress' legislature party meeting yesterday, MLAs from both states passed an order saying the final decision will be that of
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi
Top Congress leaders from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh went into a huddle with Congress president Rahul Gandhi to discuss who will be chief
ministers for the two states
While Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia are being considered for the top post in Madhya Pradesh, the contenders for chief minister in
Rajasthan are Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.
