Big claim of the allies of Sachin Pilot! said- Sachin will not join BJP

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot is not joining the BJP nor is any meeting planned with the opposition party, the leader's close aide told Hindustan Times on Monday.

However, the pilots would not attend the legislative party meeting called by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at 10:30 am. Pilots who have been away from Jaipur since Saturday will be camping in Delhi.

Pilot's aide said that it was against the rules to issue whips to the CM when the Assembly was not in session. He also asked how a whip could be issued for a meeting at the Chief Minister's house.

Late last night, Pilot's office issued a statement saying that the Gehlot government was in a minority and claimed the support of 30 MLAs. Hours later, at a 2:30 pm press conference, the Congress said that a total of 109 MLAs have signed a letter expressing their trust and support to the CM Ashok Gehlot-led government.

The party's Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pandey said that a whip has been issued to all the MLAs to be present at the meeting of the legislature party on Monday, strict disciplinary action will be taken against any MLA who is absent without any reason.

Congress chief spokespersons Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Maken were sent to Jaipur to deal with the ongoing political crisis in the state unit over differences between the CM and his deputy.

Pilot's supporters said they have raised issues against Gehlot's functioning for the past fortnight with party state in-charge and Congress organization secretary KC Venugopal and senior Congress leader in Delhi Ahmed Patel. "Their concerns were not resolved."

Gehlot on Saturday alleged that the BJP was trying to topple his government, the opposition party denied the allegations.

For the Congress, the events in Rajasthan may be reminiscent of what happened in Madhya Pradesh in March, when 24 MLAs resigned from the party and the state assembly, taking allegiance to Scindia, bringing the Chief Minister Kamal Nath's government to a minority.

In the 200-member Rajasthan Legislative Assembly, the Congress has the support of 125 MLAs, including 107 of its MLAs. The majority mark is 101. The BJP has 72 MLAs and has the backing of Hanuman Beniwal's National Democratic Party (RPL).