Post-truce, Rajasthan Congress faces task of accommodating Pilot, Gehlot loyalists in party revamp

The Congress party's troubles in Rajasthan don't seem to end anytime soon since the grand old party after successfully quelling a rebellion within its ranks, is now facing an uphill task in revamping the party's organisational structure, The Indian Express has reported.

According to the report, while the party is expected to revamp the organisation soon, accommodating leaders from both Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's camp and former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot's camp is going to be difficult.

"After Pilot was removed as party president, office-bearers in several districts and block Congress committees also resigned from their posts in solidarity. It will be a challenge for the party to accommodate loyalists from both Gehlot and Pilot camps when committees and departments within the party are reconstituted," a senior Congress leader told the newspaper.

Following Pilot's revolt along with 18 other legislators, he was removed both as the deputy chief minister of the state as well as the party's state unit chief. Congress' Rajasthan in-charge, Avinash Pandey, had then dissolved the entire state executive of the party.

Pilot loyalists right from district Congress committees to the office-bearers of the state executive had tendered in their resignations after Pilot's removal, the report said.

"For the past one and half years, many Congress workers were already dissatisfied because political appointments in several commissions and boards were not taking place due to the tussle between Gehlot and Pilot camps, as each faction vetoed nominees of the other. If this dissatisfaction continues among leaders and workers, it can adversely impact our performance in civic and Panchayat elections," the leader said.

Sources also told Indian Express that the new state in-charge, Ajay Maken's inputs will be important during the revamp. Maken replaced Pandey after a truce between the two warring factions was brokered earlier this month. According to the newspaper, the party's top leadership is keen on presenting a united front by accommodating leaders from both the factions.

"Whatever happened over the last one month will not affect the party, as the issue has been resolved and all of us stand united. Our focus now is to inject fresh energy into our organisation and strengthen it. We will listen to all suggestions of Congress workers and address their issues through meetings at various levels such as executive, district and block," the new state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasra told the newspaper.

After the truce, Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan won the vote of confidence in the Legislative Assembly on August 14.

It was not immediately clear how many votes cast by members did Gehlot’s government garner in the House. The ruling Congress has 107 MLAs in the 200-member Legislative Assembly. The BJP has 72.

After the trust vote, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot said that the vote of confidence was passed with a "very good majority". "Despite various attempts by the opposition, the result is in favour of the government," Pilot said.