Sachin Pilot skips second meeting too, Congress moves resolution seeking action

New Delhi: Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot has skipped the second meeting of Congress MLAs and supporting legislators at Jaipur, prompting the party in the state to move a resolution seeking action against him and other members of the rebel camp.
Pilot and another 16 MLAs kept away from the second meeting held at a city resort on Tuesday morning - they had skipped the first meeting on Monday as well - showing he had not budged despite attempts by the party to lure him back with offers.

Sources said Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and other senior leaders are, sometime after the end of the meeting, likely to meet the Assembly Speaker and opt for a trust vote. The party leadership is also working to woo back a section of MLAs backing Pilot.

The second Congress meeting reiterated confidence in CM Gehlot's leadership, thus rejecting the Pilot camp's demand for a change of leadership in the state.

At these meetings, Gehlot produced 107 of the 122 Congress and supporting MLAs to “prove his majority”, while 13 Congress MLAs, including Pilot and two ministers, and four Independents stayed away.

Pilot and his supporters claimed to have the backing of 30 Congress MLAs and some Independents, but this has not been proved as of now.

Though the Gehlot government as of now has majority, it has to work to ensure the BJP, which is backing Pilot camp, will not typically work to further take away supporting MLAs, even as it tries to increase its number base.