Ashok Gehlot named Rajasthan's next Chief Minister, Sachin Pilot to be Deputy CM

After hectic parleys, senior Congress leader Ashok Gehlot was on Friday named as the chief minister of Rajasthan, where the party has got a mandate to form the new government.  As a compromise formula, young turk Sachin Pilot was named the Deputy Chief Minister. 

The development comes after Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot met Rahul Gandhi for another round of talks for the top post on Friday.Before the announcement, Rahul Gandhi had tweeted a photo with both the leaders, hinting that the differences were resolved.

Rajasthan Chief Minister designate Ashok Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister designate Sachin Pilot at AICC headquarters in Delhi pic.twitter.com/lwCnOcUayj

— ANI (@ANI) December 14, 2018

After Congress' observer to the state K C Venugopal made the announcement at a media briefing here, Gehlot thanked Gandhi for giving him an opportunity to serve the people of the state for the third time and promised that he and Pilot will give "good governance".

Pilot exuded confidence that Congress' good electoral performance will continue, saying the party will get a big mandate in 2019 polls and form the government."We will meet the governor today and will decide on the details of the oath-taking ceremony," Venugopal said. 

Earlier, the Congress president had given separate hearings to both Pilot and Gehlot, one representing the young face of the party and the other, the old guard There had been hectic lobbying for the top post and both leaders had staked their claims for the post of chief minister.

On Thursday, Sachin Pilot supporters burnt tyres and blocked roads, demanding his appointment as the next chief minister. They also raised slogans outside Gandhi's office in the national capital.Gehlot's supporters had also indulged in such activities, thronging the party headquarters in Jaipur and sloganeering in the former chief minister's favour.

However, Pilot and Gehlot issued an appeal for calm and request all workers to maintain peace and discipline. On December 11, the Congress bagged as many as 99 seats out in the 200-member assembly. The party's ally Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) managed to win one seat to get the magical 100 marks, which is required to form the government.

With PTI inputs