Sanjay Jha suspended by Maha Congress for 'anti-party activities' & 'breach of discipline'

On the same day as the Congress party sacked Sachin Pilot as Rajasthan's Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) President, it has now suspended former spokesperson Sanjay Jha from the party. The Maharashtra Congress has suspended Sanjay Jha with immediate effect on Tuesday night for 'anti-party activities' and 'breach of discipline.' Jha has been criticising the Congress since he was sacked as the spokesperson for allegedly writing an opinion against his party leadership.

READ | Sanjay Jha 'fully Backs Sachin Pilot'; Points Out Ashok Gehlot's Abysmal Loss In 2013

Shortly after Sachin Pilot was sacked on Tuesday morning, the former spokesperson again took a dig at the Congress. He put out a tweet asking people to wait and watch the space for the next person to have a fallout with the grand-old party. "First, Jyotiraditya Scindia. Now, Sachin Pilot. Who next? Watch this space!" tweeted Sanjay Jha. The former spokesperson had also backed Pilot's opposition to the Gehlot camp earlier. 

Comparing 1984's scenario when Congress won 414 LS seats single-handedly with a 48.5% vote-share to 2020, Jha pointed out how Congress' vote share had reduced by nearly 60% to 19.52%, but its seats had reduced by 87% to 52 seats.

READ | Rajasthan's Pali District Cong President Quits Over Sachin Pilot's 'undemocratic Removal'

Sachin Pilot sacked

Following the emerging cracks within the Rajasthan Congress leadership, Ashok Gehlot on Monday sacked Sachin Pilot as Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, as well as the chief of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC), taking disciplinary action against its long-time leader following his failure to attend the second CLP meeting in Jaipur.

READ | Sanjay Jha Asks 'who Next' On Sachin Pilot's Fallout With Congress After Scindia

Apart from Pilot, two other cabinet ministers will be sacked from the party itself after they decided to stay back with Pilot and give the CLP meet a miss, which was seen as Congress' last-ditch attempt to mend fences with the miffed leader and his faction.

Sources have reported that Sachin Pilot has made it clear to the BJP, that if he were to join the party, he would want to take the lead as the Rajasthan Government's Chief Minister. Pilot's demand may meet an impasse since the Rajasthan BJP has some top brass and seasoned leaders like Vasundhara Raje, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Om Birla, who would be considered as top candidates to lead the state if BJP were to form a government in Rajasthan. 

READ | Rajasthan Govt Crisis LIVE Updates: Cong Issues Notice To Absentee MLAs; BJP To Hold Meet