As suspense looms over who would be the Rajasthan chief minister, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot stated that "making decisions in such matters takes time as observers go to states for discussions."

Retorting to BJP's remarks over the delay caused in the appointment of chief ministers, Gehlot pointed out that "the BJP itself took seven days to choose chief minister when emerged victorious in Uttar Pradesh."

"In Maharashtra too, the BJP took nine days to choose the head of the state," he added.

In Rajasthan, the party has two prominent contenders for the chief ministerial post, Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.

On the one hand, Pilot has been heading the Rajasthan Congress for past four-five years and has delivered with satisfaction. On the other hand, Gehlot who held the chief ministerial post twice earlier remains popular among the public.

On December 11, the Congress bagged as many as 99 seats out in the 200-member assembly. The party's ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) managed to win one seat to get the magical 100 marks, which is required to form the government.

While rival BJP led by Vasundhara Raje declined drastically from 163 to 73 seats, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party managed to bag six seats and has also offered support to the Congress. The remaining 20 seats were won by independent candidates.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)