Jaipur, July 13: The Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), whose two legislators support the Congress-led government in Rajasthan, announced their withdrawal of support from the Ashok Gehlot regime in the state. Both the MLAs announced that they would no longer be part of the government or extend external support to the Chief Minister.

The BTP MLAs who have withdrawn support are Ramprasad and Rajkumar Roat, representing Sagwara and Chorasi constituencies, respectively. They, along with two from Left and 13 Independents and supported the Congress government in Rajasthan after it stormed to power with a thin majority in 2018. Rajasthan Congress Crisis: Sachin Pilot Denies Meeting Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, Chorus for 'Disciplinary Action' Grows.

The withdrawal of support by BTP legislators came shortly after the party issued a whip, asking both the MLAs to "abstain" in case of a trust vote in the legislative assembly.

The BTP's exit from the ruling coalition comes amid a power tussle within the Congress which has come out in the open. Chief Minister Gehlot and Deputy CM Sachin Pilot, at loggerheads since the 2019 general elections debacle, have reportedly reached a point of "no-return".

The crisis was triggered after the Special Operation Group of Rajasthan Police sent a notice under Section 124A  of IPC (sedition) to Pilot and nearly a dozen other MLAs, seeking their response on whether they were involved in a conspiracy to topple the government.

Since the Home department is headed  by Gehlot, Pilot considered the notice as a move by the Chief Minister to "humiliate" him. An upset Pilot moved to Delhi earlier this week, where he has reportedly conveyed to the party high command of his inability to continue in a government headed by Gehlot.

According to Pilot, he has the support of 30 MLAs who would pull out from the government if he decides to quit. Amid the rift, a legislative party meeting called by Gehlot earlier today was reportedly attended by over 100 legislators of the ruling camp.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 13, 2020 09:27 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).