Jaipur, Dec 18 (IANS): After announcing the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the Congress will announce the LoP in Rajasthan this week, said party sources.

Five senior Congress leaders are in the running for the job, they added. After facing defeat in three of the five states in the just-concluded Assembly elections, there will be some phase-wise changes in the party organisation.

In the first phase, an appointment will be made to the post of LoP and the name is likely to be announced this week, said party leaders adding, “The name of the Leader of Opposition has been discussed at the level of the Congress high command but appointment orders are yet to be issued. Leaders of Opposition have already been appointed in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, hence there are chances of appointment in Rajasthan also soon.”

Only a few months are left for the Lok Sabha elections, hence the appointment to this post will be done keeping caste equations in mind.

The names of leaders like Sachin Pilot, Govind Singh Dotasra, Harish Chaudhary, Rajendra Pareek, Mahendrajeet Malviya are doing the rounds for the LoP’s post.

Last time when the Congress was in the Opposition, Sachin Pilot was made the state president and Rameshwar Dudi was given the post of LoP.

Party leaders said that the Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot factor is likely to dominate the appointment to the post of LoP and the Congress high command has also taken the opinion of these two leaders.

Leaders of the Gehlot camp are also contenders for the post and the name of Mahendrajeet Malviya has been suggested as the tribal face of the party, while the name of Rajendra Pareek has been suggested as the Brahmin face.

After the BJP made Bhajan Lal Sharma the Chief Minister in Rajasthan, a section of the Congress is advocating giving key posts to Brahmins, so that a political balance can be created. Change in the post of State President can be avoided if Sachin Pilot is made the LoP.