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Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot Will Both Contest Rajasthan Elections, Say ‘We Are United’

Elections to the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on December 7.

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Sachin Pilot, Ashok Gehlot Will Both Contest Rajasthan Elections, Say ‘We Are United’
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Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and state Congress chief Sachin Pilot will contest the December 7 assembly elections.

In a joint press conference held in Delhi on Wednesday, Gehlot and Pilot said they will contest the polls along with other senior leaders of the state.

"We are all united. It is BJP's conspiracy to spread false news that the Congress is divided," Gehlot said. 

“Pilot and I both will contest the election. We will all contest the election together," he added.

“On Congress president Rahul Gandhi’s instructions, I have decided to contest Rajasthan assembly elections,” Pilot said.

Pilot attacked Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, saying she had betrayed the trust of the people of the state.

He said the tension was evident in the BJP camp with many senior leaders sidelined and not given tickets, showing that "all is not well".

Asked why the Congress had not declared a chief ministerial face before the elections, Gehlot said this had never been done in Rajasthan.

On Wednesday morning, in a setback for the BJP, party's Dausa MP Harish Chandra Meena joined the Congress.

Harish Meena was DGP during Gehlot's tenure as chief minister and was pitted by the BJP against his brother Namonarain in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from the Dausa constituency.

The assembly polls in the state will take place on December 7 in a single phase for all 200 seats. The counting of votes will take place on December 11. The BJP had won 163 of the 200 assembly seats in the last Assembly polls.

For more assembly election-related stories CLICK HERE.

(With inputs from agencies)