R'sthan Cong leadership fails to meet deadline on appointments

Jaipur, Feb 4 The Congress high command in Rajasthan has failed to meet its January 31 deadline for announcement of political appointments and has now taken a U-turn, leaving scores of party workers demotivated across the state.

AICC General Secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Ajay Maken was in Jaipur on Thursday where he announced that cabinet expansion will be announced after the budget session, while the political appointments will be made after some time.

Several Congress MLAs, six former BSP MLAs who had joined the Congress and independent parties are eagerly awaiting the expansion of the cabinet and political appointments, eyeing a share in power as a reward for supporting Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot during the political crisis.

Official sources said that Gehlot is not in a mood to make any political appointment now and will be announcing the same somewhere around May after the by-polls scheduled for four seats Sujangarh, Rajsamand, Sahara (Bhilwara) and Vallabhnagar (Udaipur).

A senior Congress worker told : "All the veteran leaders including K.C. Venugopal, Pawan Bansal and Ajay Maken have visited Jaipur and met Gehlot. Still nothing new could come out and workers are left with nothing in their hands. Has the high command gone weak in front of Gehlot?"

Another party worker said that Gehlot is taking time due to his ongoing feud with former PCC chief and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot.

"It's like a wait and watch game for Pilot's followers who are also waiting for their share. The longer the wait, the more numbers shall turn to Gehlot's faction," said a senior Congress leader.

Meanwhile, disappointment was seen among party workers who told that despite working hard to form the government, they were not rewarded for their hard work even after two years of the government's formation.

Political appointments and cabinet expansion have been hanging fire for a long time with the party putting them off in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and local elections.

( With inputs from IANS )