Ashok Gehlot, an experienced warhorse, has the support of Congress leaders with an eye on the 2019 national election, sources said.
Ashok Gehlot has been chief minister of Rajasthan twice earlier.
NEW DELHI/JAIPUR:
Ashok Gehlot is likely to be the next Rajasthan chief minister, Congress sources said today after their chief Rahul Gandhi met both him and Sachin Pilot in Delhi. An announcement is likely in Jaipur, where new Congress lawmakers will meet to formally name their leader.
Sachin Pilot, the Rajasthan Congress chief who refused to back down in the race for the top job, was the first to meet with Rahul Gandhi and it was a "good meeting," sources told NDTV.
Two-time chief minister Ashok Gehlot was the next to meet Rahul Gandhi. The 67-year-old - who, as a young upcoming leader was handpicked for Rajasthan by Rahul Gandhi's father Rajiv Gandhi - walked out of that meeting with a figurative spring in his step. He took a flight back to Jaipur.
Sachin Pilot, 41, is credited with rebuilding the party when "not a blade of grass was to be seen" - in his words. He was made Rajasthan Congress chief after the Congress washout in the 2013 state election. He traveled over five lakh km while campaigning for the December 7 election.
But on Tuesday, as votes were counted in Rajasthan, the victory was not as emphatic Sachin Pilot and the Congress anticipated. That made it critical for the party to make a careful choice, with the national election in mind.
Sachin Pilot, a former union minister in the Manmohan Singh government, did not go down without a fight. He repeatedly argued that most of the 99 newly-elected Congress lawmakers in Rajasthan wanted to see him as chief minister.
Sources say Ashok Gehlot, a seasoned leader, had the support of party leaders who are more concerned about the 2019 national election.
The Congress general secretary is in charge of several party panels and training.
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