Ashok Gehlot calls late-night meeting of Rajasthan MLAs ahead of his Delhi visit

The political developments come a day after senior leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor met Sonia Gandhi for a meeting

Amid reports of being the front-runner in the Congress presidential polls, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is expected to call on incumbent party chief Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday before he flies off to Kerala to join Rahul Gandhi in the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’.

Mr. Gehlot could reveal his mind at a late-night meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) that he convened at 10 p.m. in Jaipur on Tuesday. Party MLAs, who were present at a dinner function to felicitate Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, have been asked to stay back for the meeting.

So far, the Rajasthan Chief Minister has been sending mixed signals about taking up the top party job as it could mean giving up his chief ministership.

It is well known that Mr. Gehlot is averse to handing over the chief ministerial position to his former deputy and rival, Sachin Pilot. Interestingly, the CLP meeting comes in the absence of Mr. Pilot, who left for Kerala to join the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ on Tuesday afternoon.

Though former party chief Rahul Gandhi is unlikely to change his mind about not contesting, Mr. Gehlot is expected to give one more try to persuade him.

The hectic political developments come a day after senior leader and Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor met Ms. Gandhi for a meeting. In the 40-minute meeting, sources claimed, Ms. Gandhi assured Mr. Tharoor that the Gandhi family would be ‘neutral’ if there is a contest.