Rajasthan cabinet reshuffle soon as Gehlot plans Delhi visit

Jaipur, Nov 8 (IANS) After victory in the Assembly bypolls, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is all set to visit Delhi around November 10 to discuss the cabinet expansion and political appointments, pending for an year, with the party high command, Congress sources said.

The much-awaited cabinet rejig and appointments had been pending ever since the Covid pandemic broke out. The Assembly bypolls had also been delayed.

However, now the bypolls are over and Congress has won both the seats and Gehlot is focused on the long-pending appointments and a cabinet rejig, a Congress leader told IANS.

He said that the Chief Minister has shown his prowess after the byelection victory and will work on his own terms and conditions to make his team stronger in Rajasthan.

Meanwhile, amid the reports of Gehlot going to Delhi, silence of former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot is intriguing.

Neither Pilot nor any MLA from his camp has given any statement regarding the cabinet reshuffle which has become an issue for discussion.

Meanwhile, Congress sources confirmed that the Health Minister Raghu Sharma and Revenue Minister Harish Choudhary might be freed from cabinet portfolios as they have been made party in charges of Gujarat and Punjab.

Long-pending appointments, especially related to the state unit, will be announced following the expansion. "After the expansion, the accouncement of the appointments would also start," a Congress leader said.

Gehlot had met senior Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi, General Secretaries Ajay Maken and K.C. Venugopal at Rahul Gandhi's residence on October 16 amid talks of a rejig in the cabinet.

In the bypolls, Dhariawad, which was a BJP seat since 2013, was captured by Congress and Vallabhnagar, another of its seat, was retained by the ruling party.

The BJP finished third in Dhariawad and fourth in Vallabhnagar.