New Delhi: After day-long meetings and consultations, the Congress on Thursday night picked Kamal Nath over Jyotiraditya Scindia for Madhya Pradesh’s chief minister. However, the race for the top job is still on in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh.
Sources suggest that the party leadership prefers Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan but the state Congress chief Sachin pilot is not giving up. Both the leaders had one-on-one meetings with party president Rahul Gandhi late Thursday night and a decision was deferred till Friday on who will be chief minister.
KC Venugopal, party observer for Rajasthan, who was also at the meetings, said taking leadership was not easy but it will be announced on Friday.
"Taking decision on CM is not an easy job. The final decision will be taken tomorrow (today, Friday) in a meeting to be held around 10 am," he said.
For Rajasthan, Gehlot, a seasoned political manager, holds an edge, but Sachin Pilot is believed to be fighting hard for the post that he believes he has earned after leading the party for the past four years in the state and rebuilding it after its 2013 rout.
Amid reports of highway protests by Congress workers, Sachin Pilot appealed on Twitter for "peace and decorum" and said he would welcome "whatever Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi decide".
For Chhattisgarh, frontrunners TS Singh Deo and Bhupesh Baghel have been called to Delhi from Raipur for discussions with top party leaders.
Earlier on Thursday, a scuffle took place outside the house of Baghel, where the party supporters had gathered, waiting to hear Delhi's pick for the Chief Minister's post. It is not known who were involved.
