Gehlot-Pilot tussle keeps Rajasthan Congress on edge

NEW DELHI: The feud between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan Congress has been resonating in the Bharat Jodo Yatra. The Pilot camp desperately wants change in leadership as soon as possible. Moreover, the power struggle of Gehlot to hold on to executive power (Chief Minister) and Pilot’s pursuit of replacing him has kept the Rajasthan Congress camp on the edge. The pending decision of giving Pilot the top berth in the state, according to a party insider, could be taken after the yatra ends in the state.
However, as it appears, the Yatra has come in between the two for now, which demands a show of unity from both the leaders to atleast uphold the idea of “Jodo” (fix), which otherwise could mar the core purpose of the yatra. It is believed by party leaders that the upcoming Assembly election results could mean a near wipe-out of the Congress in the elections akin to what happened in 2013 (Gehlot was the CM then too), due to anti-incumbency that the Gehlot government has faced in the past as well. The top leadership, according to sources, is contemplating a decision on the matter by bringing Pilot at the top with an aim to mobilise the Congress cadre after the yatra and also break the traditional behavior of the state of it being a swing state.
A section of the party leaders suspect that when a crucial phase to initiate election strategy for the party comes, Gehlot could suddenly step down to give away Pilot the leadership. And as the party is expected to lose, the blame will be on Pilot for the poor performance as he won’t get enough time to set things right. The top leadership, however, knows that if they have to bring back the party on track, the change has to be now. An analyst said, “If Pilot comes, it will take him around three months to get everything in line, to build his cadre and to initiate things in accordance to his pursuits.”
Pilot’s ascension also depends on how the leadership will take most of the MLAs into confidence. It is also to be seen whether Gehlot, being in politics for around 50 years, could take any serious decision against Pilot and try to take counter measures. Sources suggest that the relationship between Mallikarjun Kharge and Gehlot is also not good as he had to stomach the insult after the official meeting called by the high command was boycotted by majority of MLAs. Kharge was sent as an observer along with Ajay Maken to conduct the meeting. Subsequently, it was Gehlot who was the direct beneficiary of the rebellion episode.
In a recent interview by Gehlot, he asserted that Pilot is a “Gaddar”, a statement seen to be a pressure tactic by him to indicate that any thought of planting Pilot could be debilitating for the state cadre.
According to political observers, he gave an idea that he could prepare a counter measure for a move like that. But later, when Rahul Gandhi called both the leaders “assets” for the party, Gehlot echoed his asset remark and said that “we will make the Bharat Jodo Yatra a success”. However, there is an apprehension that it is all optics for the Yatra to end, as the Pilot camp has repeatedly been seeking the ascension of Pilot to the top post.