Kharge to chair meeting on Raj poll preparedness, CM Gehlot to join virtually

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday will chair a meeting to discuss the poll preparedness of the party in Rajasthan. While Sachin Pilot will be present in the meeting here, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will join virtually.

According to party leaders, the meeting will begin at 11 a.m at the party headquarters here. Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal will also be present.

A party leader said that at least 25 to 27 leaders from Rajasthan will be present in the meeting and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot will attend virtually.

The party leader said that former deputy chief Minister Sachin Pilot will also attend the meeting at the party headquarters here where state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara and others will also be present.

A party source said that during the meeting, no discussion will take place over the Gehlot and Pilot issue, as this will be discussed later by the senior leaders.

On May 27, a day before leaving for the US, Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with Kharge, Gehlot, Pilot and Venugopal  on the political crisis in the desert state.

After the meeting, Venugopal had said that the party will contest unitedly in Rajasthan Assembly elections later this year, giving a hint of ending the crisis in the state. However, no formula was shared.

Earlier, Congress president had held similar meetings with leaders from the poll-bound states -- Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Mizoram and Madhya Pradesh -- to discuss poll preparedness and also to chalk out a strategy to win in the Assembly elections.