Ignored by Gehlot, Pilot loyalist Hemaram Chaudhary resigns from Rajasthan Assembly

JAIPUR:  Senior Congress MLA and former minister Hemaram Choudhary on Tuesday resigned from the Rajasthan Assembly. A Sachin Pilot loyalist, Hemaram, an  MLA from Gudhamalani, was among the 19 legislators, who had rebelled against chief minister Ashok Gehlot last year. Sources said he was upset with the party for not giving him any important post.

Choudhary’s resignation set social media abuzz with speculations, while sources said the move was aimed at pressuring the high command to start the process of much-delayed Cabinet reshuffle and political appointments in the state. While his resignation does not pose any threat to the Gehlot number, which would still command 105 seats in a House of 200, it is likely to show the leadership in poor light.

The Congress government still has the support  of 13 independent members, one RLD and two CPM MLAs to go past the magical figure of 101. “I had resigned earlier, too, but it was not accepted. Now, I have been an MLA for two and a half years. Enough is enough, it does not matter whether I serve the remainder of my term. The reason will be explained after its acceptance,” Choudhary said.

He had previously resigned on February 14, 2019, but the party had convinced him to stay. The resignation was not even made public then. To ward off a recurrence, it seems he has announced his resignation publicly as well.