In the latest development proving to be an ugly turn in the ongoing power tussle in Rajasthan, the Congress, in a dramatic move, has sacked rebel leader Sachin Pilot as the Deputy Chief Minister as well as the state party chief.

Govind Singh Dotasra has been appointed as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief in Pilot’s place, informed Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Tuesday.

This comes after Pilot skipped the Congress Legislative Party meeting for the second time earlier today in Jaipur.

Two other ministers, Vishvender Singh and Ramesh Meena, who joined him in his revolt, have also been dropped.

In the meeting, 102 MLAs were reportedly present showing their support to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and had unanimously demanded that Sachin Pilot be removed from the party.

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Party sources quoted by ANI had earlier in the day said that the Congress Legislature Party meeting is being conducted repeatedly to send messages to Sachin Pilot that there is still time for him to come back. A decision on further course of action will be taken after today’s meeting, it was stated.

Meanwhile, it was reported that the Congress would issue notices to those who skipped MLAs meet.

Pilot skipped the meeting even after Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel, P Chidambaram and KC Venugopal tried speaking to him several times.

At a press conference today, the Congress said the BJP has “ensnared” Pilot to bring down his party’s government in Rajasthan.

On Monday, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had held a CLP meeting which was skipped by Pilot and his flock of 18 MLAs.

Following this, a resolution by MLAs called for “strict disciplinary action” against anyone who did anything to weaken the government or the party.

On the same day, Sachin Pilot had also released the first-ever video showing MLAs in his camp sitting together in a resort in Haryana’s Manesar. The MLAs can be seen sitting together and talking, though Pilot is not visible in the video. They haven’t disclosed the place where the video has been recorded.

Sulking leader Sachin Pilot has been missing from action since the last few days and had declared open rebellion against his party claiming on Sunday that he has the support of 30 MLAs.

However, Rajasthan Congress has claimed that 109 MLAs have signed a letter of support to the chief minister. The Congress sources have also thrashed Pilot’s claims saying that he has not more than 16 MLAs with him.

Meanwhile, amidst the Congress crisis, sources quoted by NDTV have said that the BJP believes “floor test is the only option” in Rajasthan now.

The Congress in Rajasthan is witnessing a power tussle between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot, who is upset since he was denied the Chief Minister’s post after the December 2018 assembly elections.

The current crisis began Friday night when the Rajasthan Police sent a notice to Pilot, asking him to record his statement over an alleged attempt to bring down the government.

In the 200-member assembly, the Congress had 107 MLAs and the support of 13 independents and five from smaller parties. That number has now come down to 90 Congress MLAs, seven independent members and five from smaller parties – 101.