Senior Congress Party politician and former federal Minister Ajay Maken has stepped down as party leader in India's Rajasthan state on Wednesday.
According to media reports, Maken was allegedly upset over the lack of action against the lawmakers who sided with state chief Ashok Gehlot during the party's recent crisis.
The crisis in the Congress Party surfaced after Gehlot, who is viewed as a Gandhi family loyalist, was reportedly asked to resign from his post so that he could fight the party's presidential polls. Just when Gehlot's successor was to be picked in a key meeting, more than 90 lawmakers close to him resigned, leaving the party red-faced.
The episode resulted in Gehlot not contesting the party elections after being considered the frontrunner due to his proximity with the Gandhis.
After Gehlot dropped out, another Gandhi loyalist, Mallikarjun Kharge, was asked to step in and he eventually took over from interim chief Sonia Gandhi, becoming the first non-Gandhi Congress president in more than two decades.
Maken's decision to step down comes just two weeks after Sachin Pilot, Gehlot's main challenger in the party in Rajasthan, also urged Congress to punish the lawmakers loyal to the state chief.
"It's time now to end the climate of indecision in Rajasthan," Pilot said at the start of the month.