Now Karnataka Cong. chief Shivakumar meets Gehlot
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Less than 24 hours after an unannounced visit of senior Congress leader Kumari Selja to Jaipur, Karnakata Pradesh Congress Committee president D.K. Shivakumar also met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot here on Tuesday. Mr. Shivakumar’s visit is perceived as yet another attempt by the party leadership to tackle Mr. Gehlot’s unrelenting attitude to a Cabinet reshuffle.
Mr. Shivakumar, who landed at Sanganer airport here on Tuesday afternoon, was driven straight to the Chief Minister’s official residence in Civil Lines. He left for New Delhi after meeting Mr. Gehlot for nearly an hour.
Mr. Shivakumar is the fourth Congress leader to visit Rajasthan in the last one week amid speculations about a Cabinet expansion and reshuffle, in which the MLAs loyal to former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot are seeking a bigger representation. AICC general secretaries Ajay Maken and K.C. Venugopal and Haryana Congress chief Ms. Selja have visited Jaipur and met Mr. Gehlot over the last couple of week.
However, Mr. Shivakumar told reporters at the airport that this was his personal visit to the State Capital and it had “no political agenda”.
“I am not carrying any message from anyone… There is no agenda relating to Rajasthan, Karnataka or the Centre,” he said.
According to the political observers, the repeated visits of Congress leaders have indicated the central leadership’s unease about Mr. Gehlot’s reluctance to yield space to Mr. Pilot and his supporters. Despite Mr. Pilot camping in New Delhi for several days to convey his demands, the Congress has found it difficult to convince Mr. Gehlot for a power sharing arrangement.
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