The veteran's chance to become party leader may be lost due to the mutiny by MLAs who support Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Sonia Gandhi, the party's leader, has been urged by senior Congress members to withdraw Mr. Gehlot from the race.

Members of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly from the Gehlot camp have made it clear that they will not support Sachin Pilot as Chief Minister of Rajasthan if Gehlot is elected as the party's leader.

Ajay Maken and Mallikarjun Kharge, two senior Congressmen, arrived in Jaipur to quell the uproar after more than 90 MLAs threatened to quit if Mr. Pilot was given the position of Chief Minister. In order to come up with a solution, the central leaders were to meet with the MLAs privately.

However, the MLAs were absent. The MLAs needed to return home for Navratri, according to senior lawmaker Pratap Singh Khachariyawas. The decision to go back to Delhi has been made by Mr. Maken and Mr. Kharge.

Mr. Maken criticised this act of defiance in front of the media, calling it indiscipline. According to information obtained, the central leaders were "upset and embarrassed." The changes also indicate that the Gandhis are losing control of the party.

The incumbent Chief Minister, Mr. Gehlot, who was widely seen as the front-runner in the Congress chief election, has been reluctant to hand over his position to Mr. Pilot. Prior to Rahul Gandhi's insistence that the Congress would uphold the "one man, one post" rule, he had claimed that there was no obstacle to him holding both positions. However, he later changed his mind.