‘Leaders close to Pilot deny any chances of him launching his own party on 11 June’.
NEW DELHI: As the political stand-off between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot continues, sources within the party claim that Pilot doesn’t want to leave the party. Moreover, the leaders close to him deny any chances of him launching his own party on 11 June.
Sources claim that he has not been in favour of leaving the party. Had it been in his plans, he would have done so a long ago, but he is consistently trying to tell the party to give him a considerate response to his contribution for the party, sources said. And, moreover, he is heard to be seeking either the president’s position for himself or give his loyalists the position, which will elevate him in the party.
However, sources in the AICC suggest that the battle for Pilot would be tough unless Rahul Gandhi directly intervenes in the matter. While both Pilot and Gehlot have been fighting, all the senior leaders are seen to have taken Gehlot’s side, including Congress national president Malikarjun Kharge, Congress media chief Jairam Ramesh, and Congress organisation general secretary K.C. Venugopal. On top of that, some leaders also believe that Rajasthan Congress in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had also been tough on Pilot.
A senior politician from Kashmir said, “Sachin Pilot is also the son-in-law of National Conference chief Farooq Abdullah. And I personally don’t think that if they would have encountered each other on such political matters, Abdullah would have never suggested Pilot to launch his own party and leave the Congress. Abdullah is very close to Congress and his relationship with Congress has been more enduring than his relationship with any other party.”
Gehlot is believed to be playing his last game where he wants to continue to be projected as the CM face for the upcoming Assembly elections. And Pilot wants to break his dominance in the party and be recognised as the bigger power in the state as well as the party.
There are murmurs within the party that Pilot’s personal ambitions have ruined the party’s political standing in the state and thus if he continues to take potshots at Gehlot, then the party would be in no need of him.
At the same time, there are other leaders who say that Gehlot is weaving his own web to push Pilot to limits. A Congress leader said, “There is a deadlock between the two leaders. Unless the high command steps in, there will be no clarity over what the high command wants. And if they don’t correct it now, it will be too late for the party.”
Many leaders also say that age is on his side and thus if he can bear the political isolation with patience till Gehlot is there, he may see bright times ahead. A political analyst in the state said, “A leader who doesn’t get it now thinks he may not get it tomorrow as well, so they act in haste and make poor decisions. If we see it from a distance, it looks clear that tomorrow Pilot would be the next big leader of Congress in the state. However, their ambitions and their urge to get hold of the levers of power make them act randomly. The problem is they don’t want to read the present situation and just want to jump to conclusions.”