Congress under Rahul Gandhi

Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh exit polls dominated the discussions among politicians on the first day of the winter session of Parliament on Friday. Another topic of discussion was the changes in the Congress party after Rahul Gandhi officially took over as party chief. Leaders speculated that Ghulam Nabi Azad and Ashok Gehlot from the old guard would continue to be trusted by the new party chief, and might get more prominence in decision making. 

Of the younger generation, Delhi unit chief Ajay Maken, RPN Singh, Jharkhand chief Ajay Kumar, Jyotiraditya Scindhia among others would gain in importance. 

With Rajasthan Assembly elections barely a year away, and Lok Sabha bypolls to Ajmer and Alwar seats likely to be held in the next few months, politicians and journalists were curious to know whether Congress Rajasthan unit chief Sachin Pilot would contest the Ajmer Lok Sabha seat that he lost in 2014, and still try to put up a fight to be Congress chief ministerial candidate for Rajasthan against a rising Gehlot.