After leaving the residence of Rajasthan Speaker C.P. Joshi in Jaipur, Rajasthan Minister Mahesh Joshi said that he expected the party to take care of people who have been loyal to it. The MLAs, all faithful to Gehlot, had earlier met at the residence of Speaker Joshi; they had threatened to resign if Sachin Pilot was announced the chief minister. "Every MLA has faith in interim president Sonia Gandhi. We have kept our point and expect that our demands will be considered when the final decision is taken by the high command. We want the party to take care of people who've been loyal to Congress," Joshi said.
Observers Mallikarjun Kharge and Ajay Maken are in the state to conduct one-on-one talks with the MLAs to resolve the issue.
The Congress in Rajasthan plunged into a crisis Sunday as the MLAs submitted resignation letters over a possible move to appoint Pilot as the next CM, their rebellion erupting just ahead of a Congress Legislature Party meeting. Gehlot loyalists claimed that over 90 MLAs went to Joshi's home, but the number could not be verified independently. The Congress has 108 MLAs in the House of 200. There was no word from the Speaker's office on the resignation letters.
Gehlot, seen by many as a reluctant candidate for the top party position, initially appeared unwilling to give up his CM's post. Later, it was speculated that he would rather see C.P. Joshi—or anyone else—as CM, rather than Pilot, who had rebelled against his leadership. Earlier in the day, Gehlot told reporters in Jaisalmer that the MLAs would pass a one-line resolution at the CLP meeting calling upon party president Sonia Gandhi to pick his successor. But the MLAs seemed to go off script.
Late at night, a large group of MLAs were at the speaker's home. At the CM's residence, a smaller group was believed to be in a huddle that reportedly included Gehlot, Pilot and some of his loyalists, Kharge and Maken. Before setting off for Joshi's home, some Gehlot loyalists said the next CM should be someone who was instrumental in saving the government during the 2020 crisis and not anyone involved in the bid to topple it, a veiled reference to Pilot.
