The pressure for cabinet expansion seems to be mounting on CM Ashok Gehlot in Rajasthan as dissident MLAs are targeting the government on different issues. After allegations of phone tapping from one of the dissident MLAs, two more have come out and said that work of the public is not getting done and the bureaucracy is dominant in the government. In the meantime MLAs supporting the government have also raised the demand for cabinet expansion.
Amid this, medical experts have advised Gehlot to avoid one to one meetings for next couple of months. According to PR cell of the CM, personal meetings with CM are not being held looking to the post COVID repercussions and doctors have advised to avoid these for next two months. This is believed to be a political quarantine for Gehlot and sources say that matter of cabinet expansion may get prolonged
In the last two days, three of the Sachin Pilot loyalist MLA's namely Deependra Singh Shekhawat and Brijendra Singh Ola have said that neither MLAs nor public’s work is being done and nothing has changed in the last 10 months. Ola said, "we cannot remain silent in the current political scenario". The lawmakers have advised the party to resolve the issues as early as possible as workers are getting restless.
It is to note that 7 MLAs supporting Pilot have targeted the state government in the last 5 days for not being heard in government, phone tapping and other issues. It had started after Pilot’s statement in which he demanded action on issues resolved in the committee formed by the party high command.
Sources in the party say that every day a new dissident MLA is targeting the state government which shows that the other fraction of the party is working on a strategy of building pressure on CM Ashok Gehlot and party high command for cabinet expansion and political appointments as time is running out this as it is the right time to mobilize workers on this issue.
This strategy seems to be working as 6 MLAs who won on the ticket of BSP and later switched over to Congress and who were supporting Ashok Gehlot government, had called a meeting on Monday, to discuss the issue of delay in cabinet expansion as they had switched over to Congress in September 2019. One of them Rajendra Singh Gudha said, "had we not supported, the Congress would have been celebrating the first death anniversary of its government in the state and Congress high command should acknowledge our support".
