Congress sacks Sachin Pilot as Rajasthan Deputy CM and state party chief

Two state ministers who had joined Pilot in skipping the meeting have also been dropped by the Congress.

"Sachin Pilot and some of the partymen got motivated by the BJP's conspiracy to destabilise the Congress government," Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said in a media briefing following the meeting of all MLAs chaired by Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot.

Though Gehlot posed confident over keeping his flock together, Pilot claimed the backing of around 17 MLAs.

If Pilot and the 17 MLAs indeed leave the Congress, the Rajasthan government would certainly turn "minority" replicating the political situation that had developed earlier this year in Madhya Pradesh.

Political expert Pradeep Bhandari, however, feels losing Pilot won't hurt the Rajasthan Congress but will impact the party nationally.

"Losing Sachin may not threaten the government in Rajasthan, but it will be a big national political wound for the Congress. Filling this wound in near future will be difficult," Bhandari told India Blooms.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has 75 seats in the assembly, is closely watching the political development.

"BJP should keep an arm's length from the crisis in Congress. It has a very strong political unit in Rajasthan. Haste should not lead to miscalculated political adventurism," Bhandari said.