After Sachin Pilot and his aides were sacked from the Cabinet at the end of the crucial Congress Legislator Party (CLP) meet on Tuesday, Congress has begun putting pressure on the MLAs camping with the former PCC chief and former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan to return to the party fold. The first sign was Ashok Gehlot meeting governor Kalraj Mishra and handing over a list of 104 MLAs, thereby showing that the party under him was past the halfway mark and that the rebellion of MLAs led by Pilot was futile.
The second sign that Congress was tightening screws around the rebel MLAs was sacking Pilot and his two loyalists Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena from the Cabinet. In the same press briefing in which senior Congress leader and spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala announced the sacking of Pilot and his two aides, he said the doors were still open for the rebels if they wanted to talk it out. Senior Congress leader and AICC general secretary Avinash Pande on Wednesday also tweeted that the party’s doors for Pilot have still not shut.
The third sign of Congress building pressure on the rebel MLAs was the announcement of the expansion of the Cabinet on July 16. The expansion, for which the governor has to give his assent, would mean not only that Gehlot government was on firm footing but could also be seen as a direct signal to the rebel MLAs to show their cards before the final decision was taken on allocation of portfolios.
The fourth hint from the party high command came in the form of notices issued by the speaker CP Joshi to Pilot and 18 MLAs who are camping with him, on why their membership from the house should not be revoked given that they had ignored the party whip and not attended the CLP. The rebel MLAs have been given two days to respond, failing which their membership could be revoked. Although sources in the pilot camp have contested the legal validity of the notice served to them since, technically, they argue, that the assembly is not in session without which such a notice is invalid.
People close to Gehlot say that while their attempt will be to get as many MLAs who are camping with Pilot as possible into the party fold, the other option before the party will be to sack the rebels from the party, which would bring the strength of the house from 200 close to 180, bringing down the halfway number near the 90 mark, a figure that Gehlot may have no problems going past if he’s pressed for a floor test.
The Pilot camp, which is staying at ITC Manesar, claims to have the support of 30 MLAs, including some from other parties. In the 200-member house, the Congress has 107 MLAs, followed by BJP’s 72 MLAs. The party has still not revoked the membership of any of the MLAs which did not attend Tuesday’s CLP. Pilot has repeatedly claimed that he is not going to join the BJP. Sources in the Pilot camp are believed to have told the media that they are still with the Congress.
The Sachin Pilot camp, including him, has 19 MLAs. If they are all disqualified from the House then the new halfway mark will be 92.
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