oppn parties Rajasthan: Is Ashok Gehlot Now On Unsure Ground?

Story Of The Day

Tiranga Rally Is Excellent. Breaking The Law Was Not

October 17, 2026

People Are Talking About

People Are Talking About Junk Food Near Schools

News Snippets

  • Allahabad HC said that the UP Police is acting as law unto themselves as they detained a person unlawfully even before his arrest
  • Kolkata witnesses traffic snarls on the first day of the Durga Puja festival as revellers start pnadal-hopping
  • Neha Bora was subsequently released and Dipke is to appear before a magistrate today at noon
  • Delhi Police detained Cockroach Janta Party founder Abhijeet Dipke, Neha Bora of AISA, student leaders and supporters ahead of a rally in Connaught Place demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation. The protest followed the detention and jailing of two CJP leaders earlier in the week over demonstrations at Jantar Mantar
  • The Reserve Bank of India is considering further monetary tightening to counter capital outflows and increase the cost of betting against the rupee, according to bankers and analysts cited by Reuters. The measures follow recent rate increases and steps to drain liquidity as pressure on the currency and inflation concerns persist
  • India directed oil marketing companies to stop diverting sugar-based feedstocks for ethanol production in the 2026–27 supply year, according to a new tender issued on Friday. The companies have invited bids for 11 billion litres of ethanol made from alternatives including corn and broken rice, amid concerns about domestic sugar supplies and prices
  • Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said India's trade imbalance with China was growing sharply and attributed the problem partly to restrictions on Indian goods and services entering the Chinese market. China subsequently said it was ready to work with India to address mutual economic and trade concerns; India's trade deficit with China reached $69 billion in the first half of FY2026–27, up 27% year-on-year
  • Indian equity benchmarks extended their recovery on Friday, with the Sensex rising 413.66 points to close at 74,729.27 and the Nifty 50 gaining 148.80 points to settle at 23,146.15. Information technology shares, including Tech Mahindra, Infosys and TCS, helped lift the indices
  • India defeated Zimbabwe by four wickets in the opening women's T20 International in Raipur, taking a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Deepti Sharma and Niki Prasad combined in an 82-run stand after India's top order collapsed, helping the hosts chase down Zimbabwe's total of 114 for five
  • Indian wrestler Komal won bronze in the women's 59 kg category at the Under-23 World Wrestling Championships in Las Vegas, defeating Kazakhstan's Viktoriia Khusainova 7–2. Fellow Indian Amruta Pujari advanced to the women's 72 kg final after recording two pinfall victories
  • Indian shuttler Jagsher Singh Khangurra secured a bronze medal at the BWF World Junior Badminton Championships in Cairo
  • The Supreme Court of India upheld the Bombay High Court's decision quashing the 2020 write-off of ₹8,415 crore in additional tier-1 bonds issued by Yes Bank (Yes Bank). The court ruled that the bank's administrator lacked the authority to extinguish the bonds under the final reconstruction scheme, strengthening bondholders' claims
  • The Supreme Court issued notices to the Election Commission of India, Delhi Police and opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Akhilesh Yadav, in separate petitions concerning electoral-roll revision and protests held in Delhi on October 10–12. The court also directed the preservation of CCTV footage linked to allegations of police excesses
  • The Supreme Court ruled that a person converting from Hinduism to Islam cannot automatically claim backward-class reservation benefits in the new religious community solely on the basis of their previous caste status. The judgment upheld the Madras High Court's decision striking down a 2024 Tamil Nadu government order that permitted such certification for specified communities
  • The Election Commission of India ordered a Special Summary Revision of electoral rolls in 14 states and three Union Territories, using January 1, 2027, as the qualifying date for voter eligibility. The draft rolls are scheduled for publication on November 12, claims and objections will be accepted until December 11, and the final rolls are due on January 4, 2027
Delhi HC refuses to ban CJP's Tiranga rally at Central Park in Connaught Place today /////// Police says will control and regulate it /////// NDMC closes the park for the public on Friday and Saturday
oppn parties
Rajasthan: Is Ashok Gehlot Now On Unsure Ground?

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2020-07-27 17:50:27

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack

The political and legal drama in Rajasthan is becoming murkier by the day. There are new angles added every day with the Governor and the Chief Minister trying to outdo each other in political maneuvering. After Governor Kalraj Mishra rejected the Rajasthan cabinet's first advice to call a session of the assembly citing, in the main, three reasons - missing date, missing agenda and two court cases, Gehlot moved quickly to rectify that. He provided a date and said that the agenda was to discuss the Covid situation and the economy. The Speaker withdrew his plea against the Sachin Pilot camp in the Supreme Court. Hence, the three main objections of the Governor were satisfactorily dealt with. Or so the Congress thought.

But they had not bargained with the wiles of Kalraj Mishra. The Governor sent another letter to the Chief Minister, which, though not saying that he will not call the assembly session as requested, asked the government whether it would consider giving a 21-day notice due to the Covid situation as the MLAs would need time to gather in Jaipur. He also pointedly asked Gehlot about the floor test, saying that while it was not mentioned in the agenda but Gehlot has been talking about it in public and before the media. Lastly, the Governor also asked what steps would the government take to ensure social distancing norms would be strictly followed during the session. But interestingly, he has advised the state government to initiate steps to convene the session.

It is obvious that the Governor is playing for time. As per the constitution and several decisions by the Supreme Court, he is bound to follow the advice of the state cabinet. The 21-day notice he speaks of is the stated norm. But it is not mandatory and the state cabinet has the right to ask for an assembly session to be convened at shorter notice or even urgently. Thus, the Governor's insistence on a 21-day notice is strange. Also, he has been given the agenda. It is not fair on his part to demand to know whether the government will hold a floor test during the session. That is for the government to decide in the assembly. The Governor should issue the summons to the MLAs for the assembly session as early as feasible.

In another development, a miffed Mayawati has joined the battle by not recognizing the act of 6 Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators in Rajasthan of merging the state unit with the Congress. They had done so to escape the provisions of the anti-defection law. Mayawati said that since the BSP was a national party with a presence in many states, any such decision needs the clearance of the national executive. The BSP has issued a whip to the 6 legislators to vote against the Congress. But if a floor test is held and they vote for the Congress, their vote will count although they will stand disqualified thereafter. Hence, the fear of disqualification might make them vote against the Congress. This has queered the pitch further for Gehlot as he claims the support of only 103 MLAs. If the BSP MLAs vote against him, it will go down to 97, which is well below the majority mark of 101 in the 200-member house.

As things stand now, it is not clear whether the Congress will gain by abandoning the legal route and going all out for the political one. The picture that is emerging from various sources is that while a few from the Pilot camp may switch loyalties once they are in Jaipur, there are also chances that if the Governor succeeds in delaying the assembly session by a week or ten days, the rebels may be able to get a few Congress MLAs to switch sides. Then there is the question of which way will the BSP MLAs vote. For all his maneuverings in the last two weeks and the impression that he had successfully warded off the coup attempt, Gehlot is on unsure ground. It is also clear that he will be spending sleepless nights for the next few days. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

Growth Without Jobs Is a Warning

 Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

Delhi Curbs: Has The Government Panicked?

In Depth

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Grounds Of Arrest: The Supreme Court's Rule Must Be Followed By The Police On The Ground

Editor's Pick

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along

For the Goonj to Reverberate, Rahul Gandhi Must Take Regional Parties Along
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.