Congratulations,"young champions": Vijay Mallya adds to confusion in Cong CM race

New Delhi, Dec 13: Fugitive tycoon Vijay Mallya on Thursday congratulated Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia after the Congress won the elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

In his one line tweet, Mallya, who is still sitting in London, offered her "many congratulations" to the "young champions" Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot and also tagged them. This led to speculation as to whether he was aware of the details about who would choose the congressional high command as the CM in the two Hindi Heartland states.

The reaction comes days after a UK court ordered the extradition of the businessman, wanted in India for alleged fraud and money laundering charges amounting to an estimated Rs. 9,000 crore.

Vijay Mallya was described as a "bejeweled, billionaire playboy" in the 74-page judgement.

Both Scindia and Pilot are up against veteran leaders - Kamal Nath and Ashok Gehlot - who are said to be the frontrunners for the top posts in their respective states.

In Madhya Pradesh, Kamal Nath is likely to be named chief minister, where the party won a narrow victory emerging as the largest party. In Rajasthan the Congress is confronting a tougher choice between state chief Sachin Pilot and two-time chief minister Ashok Gehlot, 67.

According to the reports, two-thirds of the 99 newly-elected Congress lawmakers in Rajasthan, in a six-hour meeting, conveyed to the central leadership that they want Sachin Pilot, the 41-year-old state Congress head, to be chief minister.