Ashok Gehlot could win this round too against a snubbed Sachin Pilot and lose Rajasthan for Congress to BJP

As the battle rages on, the Congress leadership finds itself in a spot as it is caught between an impatient Pilot and an obdurate Gehlot (right)

At a time when the Congress is still coming to terms with former president Rahul Gandhi’s disqualification and simultaneously dealing with the tricky issue of ticket distribution in poll-bound Karnataka, the party is faced with yet another crisis.

A full-blown confrontation is in the offing in Rajasthan where its former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot has launched an all-out offensive against his bete noire Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Accusing Gehlot of deliberately going slow in investigating allegations of corruption against the Vasundhara Raje government, Pilot announced plans to sit on a dharna on Tuesday to highlight this issue. The Congress leadership has, however, taken a dim view of Pilot’s announcement and warned that this move will be viewed as “anti-party activity”.

Coming months before the Rajasthan assembly polls, the timing of Pilot’s revolt has revived talk that he may jump ship and join his other Congress colleagues like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasada and RPN Singh in the Bharatiya Janata Party.

BJP Gets A Boost

Even if this speculation is proved wrong, there is no denying that Pilot’s renewed attack against Gehlot will come in handy for the BJP as it serves the twin objective of weakening the Congress and discrediting Vasundhara Raje. It is no secret that Raje does not enjoy the confidence of the BJP’s central leadership, particularly Home Minister Amit Shah, who has been wanting to promote a new leader in the desert state.

However, these efforts have hit a wall each time given that Raje continues to enjoy the support of a large section of legislators who recently had a public show of strength for her. While Raje is pushing to be projected as the BJP’s chief ministerial face in the year-end election, the party has other candidates in view which include Union ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Given these internal developments in the BJP, Pilot’s focus on the corruption charges against Vasundhara Raje will help the party in containing her ambitions and demands for tickets for her supporters. On the other hand, Pilot’s war cry against his arch-rival spells trouble for the Gehlot-led Congress government which is already fighting anti-incumbency after five years in power.

Anti-Incumbency Worries

Rajasthan has a history of denying a second term to a party but the Congress was hoping that the leadership tussle in the BJP and what it believes is its fairly good record in governance may just give it another shot at power. On the other hand, Congress leaders admit privately that the ongoing Gehlot-Pilot battle would prove disastrous for the party which would find it difficult to put up an effective and credible fight against the BJP in the year-end polls.

It is, therefore, imperative for the Congress to put up a united fight. But this appears to be a pipe dream if the current developments are anything to go by. Pilot is unlikely to back down for too long as he has never reconciled to being denied the CM’s post in 2018 when the Congress formed the government in Rajasthan.

On the other hand, an otherwise affable and soft-spoken Gehlot is said to literally fly into a rage at the very mention of Pilot who, he charges, conspired with the BJP to destabilise his government three years ago. Gehlot never fails to point out that Pilot has been on the warpath for the past five years and has not allowed the government to function smoothly.

On his part, Pilot is aggrieved that he has not been rewarded sufficiently for his hard work in the state, particularly since he has been promised the CM’s post by both Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi on more than one occasion.

Mollifying Pilot Not Easy

As the battle rages on, the Congress leadership finds itself in a spot as it is caught between an impatient Pilot and an obdurate Gehlot. Over the months, several attempts have been made to resolve their differences but to little avail. With assembly elections less than eight months away, it is clear that a change in leadership is neither possible nor desirable.

One option is to mollify Pilot by accommodating him in the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body. This would move him to the national political stage where his experience in handling the party organisation in Rajasthan could be put to good use in other states. But Pilot is apparently reluctant to leave Rajasthan on the plea that he has invested considerable time and energy in the state which would be wasted if he were to walk away now.

There was also a proposal that Pilot be given a more prominent role in the state unit with an eye on the assembly polls. The young leader was Rajasthan Congress chief but was stripped of this post following his failed attempt to topple the Gehlot government in 2020. Gehlot is unlikely to agree to the suggestion that Pilot be rehabilitated in his old post as it will give him a major say in the distribution of tickets and make him a contender for the CM’s post.

Gehlot On A Strong Wicket

From all accounts, Gehlot will eventually have his way. It is becoming increasingly difficult to dictate terms to regional satraps following the weakening of the party’s central leadership. Gehlot survived as CM despite the show of defiance by his supporters last year when he was picked for the Congress presidency. That the party continues to stand by Gehlot was evident from the warning issued to Pilot and the statement put out by Jairam Ramesh, Congress communication in charge, which was unstinting in its praise for Gehlot.

“The Congress government in Rajasthan with Ashok Gehlot as CM has implemented a large number of schemes and taken many new initiatives that have impacted the people profoundly. This has given the state a leadership position in governance in our country. The Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan was an outstanding success made possible by the dedication and determination of the party organisation in the state. Later in the year, the Congress will seek a renewed mandate from the people on the strength of these landmark achievements and the collective efforts of our organisation,” he said.

The ball is now in Pilot’s court. It will be known in the coming days if the young leader is serious about cutting off ties with the Congress. Or whether his latest move is a calling attention motion to the party to say “main hoon na.”

Anita Katyal is a Delhi-based independent journalist. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.