Gehlot out of Cong's Chief race, Mallikarjun Kharge, Venugopal, Digvijaya to contest for post
New Delhi: Several media reports including India Today on Monday reported Rajasthan Chief Minister and aspirant of Congress’ chief post Ashok Gehlot was out of the race for the party’s presidential polls.
The development comes a day after the Congress MLAs in Rajasthan, supporting Gehlot threatened to resign amidst speculations of another party leader Sachin Pilot replacing Gehlot as the next CM of the state.
With this, media reports claimed senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijaya Singh and KC Venugopal will be contesting the polls that will elect the new party president.
"He (Ashok Gehlot) is out of the Congress presidential race. There will be other leaders who will file the nomination before September 30. Mukul Wasnik, Mallikarjun Kharge, Digvijaya Singh, KC Venugopal in the race," a Congress leader was quoted as saying by India Today.
"The way Gehlot behaved hasn’t gone down well with the party leadership. They are very upset with him,” said another leader who is a CWC member.
Drama knew no bounds since Sunday evening after 82 Rajasthan MLAs, who are Gehlot's loyalists, tendered their resignation. They stated that the decision to induct the Rajashtan CM, in the case where Gehlot was elected as the party chief, should be carried out with the support of the party legislators. Referring to Sachin Pilot, they said that they did not perceive him as a leader who they could communicate with, the India Today report added.
Meanwhile, the BJP alleged bias in the approach of the Congress and referred to the history of the party. Ami Malviya raised the question of differential treatment for Gehlot. He said, "Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, both held the position of Prime Minister and Congress President at the same time. Ashok Gehlot just wants to be Chief Minister along with being the Congress President, if elected. Why should there be different standards for the Gandhis and the rest?"
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BCCI likely to remove assistant coach Abhishek Nayar; support staff set for overhaul
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New Delhi (PTI): Just eight months into the biggest assignment of his career, it could be curtains for Mumbai stalwart Abhishek Nayar as the Indian cricket team's assistant coach amid speculation that he has fallen out with a high-profile member of the support staff.
If board sources are to be believed, Nayar has already been intimated of the BCCI's decision to part ways with him.
Fielding coach T Dilip, and Strength and Conditioning coach Soham Desai are also on their way out after completing more than three years in their respective positions.
The new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) of the BCCI has capped the support staff's tenure at three years.
It is learnt that India's first ever Strength and Conditioning coach Adrian Le Roux is likely to return for a second stint. The South African is widely credited for ushering in a new fitness culture in the then Sourav Ganguly-led Indian team during the 2003 World Cup.
When BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia was contacted by the PTI, he neither confirmed nor denied the development.
"Certain things are being finalised. You will receive a press note from BCCI in some days," Saikia said asked about the swirling speculation.
The 41-year-old Nayar, a former all-rounder who played three ODIs but was largely a domestic stalwart with 103 first-class games, didn't respond to a text message sent by PTI.
His presence deemed "counter-productive"
It is learnt that Nayar's removal was on cards after Sitanshu Kotak was added to the Indian team's support staff as an additional batting coach.
"...just after the tour of Australia, there was a review meeting conducted by the BCCI. The top officials of the board, including secretary Devajit Saikia and vice-president Rajeev Shukla, were present along with important members associated with the Indian team, and the national selectors," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
"On the sidelines of the meeting, a powerful member of the support staff expressed his apprehensions about Nayar's presence and said how him being in the dressing room is proving to be counter-productive.
"While the BCCI didn't act immediately but they brought in Kotak, the former Saurashtra run-accumulator. It was a way of side-lining Nayar during the Champions Trophy," the source added.
It is understood that Nayar was never the first-choice assistant for head coach Gautam Gambhir when the appointments were finalised. The 41-year-old Nayar was appointed as he was seen as someone who could act as a bridge between Gambhir and skipper Rohit Sharma.
Nayar and Dilip have been the Indian skipper's "most trusted lieutenants" and it is not known whether Rohit was kept in the loop by the BCCI mandarins about these decisions.
