Gehlot finally gives in. All ministers of the Ashok Gehlot-led cabinet in Rajasthan have been made to resign on Saturday evening by the Congress high command ahead of major cabinet reshuffle on Sunday. The swearing-in ceremony of new ministers will take place at 4 p.m. Earlier, at 2 p.m. on Sunday, all the ministers have been called to the state Congress headquarters, from where, the ministers shall go to the Raj Bhavan.
The resignations of the ministers who shall be removed are being accepted and sent to the Governor. The new MLAs who are going to be ministers are being informed by phone.
Resignations were taken from all the ministers in the cabinet meeting held at the CM residence on Saturday evening.
The ministers to be removed will be sworn in afresh by accepting their resignations.
Overall, only new faces will be administered the oath. As per sources, around 12 new faces can take oath as ministers.
It is believed that there will be a huge reshuffle in the portfolios of the ministers. Except for a few ministers, the portfolios of most of the ministers will be changed. The portfolios of the ministers have also been decided at the level of the Congress High Command, whose decision will be taken after the swearing-in ceremony, said sources.
The stage seems to be all set for the much awaited cabinet reshuffle as hectic preparations are on for the swearing-in ceremony of new ministers at Governor House.
Although it has not yet been decided which new faces will be included in the cabinet, the process of reaching out to a large number of Congress MLAs in Jaipur started last Friday evening.
After the meeting, a new cabinet will be formed with new names and their oath ceremony will be held on Sunday at Raj Bhawan.
Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra will be returning on Saturday evening after attending a programme in Uttar Pradesh.
Ajay Maken, the state in-charge of Rajasthan Congress, who is in Jaipur, will discuss the names of the prospective candidates with CM Ashok Gehlot.
Former deputy CM Sachin Pilot is also returning from Delhi to Jaipur on Saturday evening.
Sources said that Pilot will meet Ajay Maken before the names of ministers are decided for the cabinet expansion.
By Saturday evening, the situation will become clear on this aspect.
It needs to be informed here that the state ministers, including Govind Singh Dotasra, Dr Raghu Sharma and Harish Chaudhary had offered to resign from the post of ministers in their letter written to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
Ajay Maken, who reached Jaipur, on Friday night revealed this information to media after his arrival to Jaipur on Friday night.
In a major political development, Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra, Health Minister Raghu Sharma and Revenue Minister Harish Chaudhary wrote to interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, expressing their desire to leave their ministerial positions and work for the organisation.
The letters from these ministers are being considered as their resignations. Congress in-charge for Rajasthan, Ajay Maken, disclosed this information to the media after reaching Jaipur on Friday night.
All three have expressed their willingness to serve the party organisation, Maken said.
The Congress cabinet presently has 21 ministers, which may now be reduced to 18. Nine positions were lying vacant in the cabinet, which will now go up to 12, and all eyes are set as to which group shall get the major share — the Ashok Gehlot group or the group led by Sachin Pilot.
Dotasra is serving as the Pradesh Congress Committee chief in Rajasthan, while Raghu Sharma has been made the party’s Gujarat in-charge. Harish Chaudhary has been made the Punjab in-charge of Congress. (IANS)