Ashok Gehlot may’ve won the day but his govt remains vulnerable still

NEW DELHI: Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot may have succeeded in sniffing out and staving a coup against his government, though the storm clouds continue to hover, but the spat is likely to leave his dispensation vulnerable even if it survives.
Rajasthan political crisis: Live updates
Sachin Pilot’s sacking as deputy CM and Rajasthan Congress chief and a clear divide in the state Congress legislature party ended an uneasy peace that prevailed since the government took office 19 months ago. Whatever the fate of the government, party leaders believe it has moved into a difficult phase.

There is satisfaction in the Congress camp that Gehlot knew better than his counterparts in MP and Karnataka about rebellions. While few were willing to believe him when he first sounded the alarm last month, post-Pilot, there is a realisation that he was right on the money though it is also felt that he had a role in the crisis building up.

Despite Pilot being a personal friend of the Gandhi family, the leadership came around to accept the claims about the in-house mutiny and gave Gehlot the nod to deal with the situation. But the measures to ward off the immediate threat have set the party on a difficult course where the government will find it difficult to recover even if survives a floor test.