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Believe Cong brass will fulfil their commitment on Rajasthan CM post: Pilot camp
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and his team have decided not to “confront” MLAs close to chief minister Ashok Gehlot but “wait and watch” the decision of the Congress high command.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and his team have decided not to “confront” MLAs close to chief minister Ashok Gehlot but “wait and watch” the decision of the party high command, as the standoff between the two factions over a new chief minister intensified on Monday, people familiar with the development said.
Sunday was supposed to be a day of celebration for the Pilot camp, with his likely nomination to succeed Gehlot, who was widely expected to contest for the post of Congress president. Instead, a scheduled Congress Legislative Party meeting could not be held; and around 92 lawmakers loyal to Gehlot met at a ministers residence, and then motored down to the speaker’s residence to submit their resignations, saying they would go ahead and quit in case their demands were not met. The most material of those concerns Pilot -- that he not be named Gehlot’s successor.
A senior MLA belonging to the Pilot camp said they have decided not to respond to the actions of legislators who are opposing his nomination as chief minister.
“We will not confront the MLAs and will wait and watch the decision taken by the party high command. We believe that the party high command will fulfill its commitment to make Pilot the chief minister and fight 2023 assembly elections under his leadership,” the MLA added, asking not to be named.
Pilot and Gehlot were both contenders for the top post after the 2018 election but Rahul Gandhi, then the party president, convinced Pilot to become Gehlot’s deputy. However, in 2020, Pilot and around 20 MLAs loyal to him rebelled, threatening to destablise the government, although Gehlot managed to stave off their challenge. Pilot remained in the Congress but was no longer Gehlot’s deputy.
On Sunday, 92 Congress legislators, considered close to Gehlot, met at the residence of state’s parliamentary affairs minister Shanti Dhariwal in a show of strength . Many said they want the new chief minister to be from the 102 legislators who backed Gehlot when Pilot rebelled against him in 2020. They also decided to oppose the one-line resolution that was likely to be adopted at a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) meeting, authorising the party president to pick the new chief minister. One of their demands was this selection happen after the poll to elect the Congress president.
Besides Dhariwal, state minister Mahesh Joshi and Pratap Singh Khachariyawas met Congress in-charge for state Ajay Maken and another AICC observer Mallikarjun Kharge at Gehlot’s residence to convey the message of the MLAs loyal to him. The CLP meet was eventually called off late on Sunday.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi believes that appointing Pilot as chief minister is an important step in restructuring the party to create a balance between young and senior leaders, a party leader loyal to Pilot said.
“Ashok ji is being given a prime national role and Pilot a state specific job to ensure that the Congress returns to power in the state in next elections,” the leader said on condition of anonymity.
Rajasthan Scheduled Caste Commission chairperson and Pilot loyalist, K L Bairwa said: “We have full faith in the party high command and believe that it will do justice.”
He said it was the chief minister who agreed for a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) on Sunday night and as leader of the house, he should have ensured that the meeting took place.
“It was the chief minister’s decision to bring a one-line resolution authorising the party high command to nominate the next chief minister. The chief minister should tell the party high command why it (the meeting) did not happen,” he added.
Leaders close to Gehlot said he had told the party observers that the MLAs were acting independently and were not under his control.
“They (MLAs) are angry that a group which rebelled against the party in 2020 was being given preference and the 102 loyal Congress MLAs were being ignored,” one of the leaders said on condition of anonymity.
Bairwa countered the leader’s claims, pointing out that some of those who rebelled with Pilot were later inducted into the state cabinet.
“Ashok ji had accepted five MLAs as ministers in the cabinet. This clearly shows that we are part of the Congress and the government,” he said.
Pilot has always maintained that the 2020 rebellion was not against the Congress but against the “autocratic” functioning of the chief minister.
During the political crisis in 2020, Gehlot called Pilot “nikamma” (useless) but clarified this year that it was a “scolding by an elder” to a young leader and that his remark should not be taken literally.
The two leaders have barely been spotted together since the 2020 crisis even though both of them participated in the Congress’s ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra led by party leader Rahul Gandhi in Kochi on September 22.
Both Gehlot and Pilot separately discussed a smooth transition of power with Gandhi in Kochi and it appears as though the entire rebellion has been engineered to prevent Pilot from becoming the chief minister, another legislator close to Pilot said.
“It is a clear defiance of the party high command by the Gehlot camp,” this person added on condition of anonymity.
Pilot, who remained in jaipur on Monday will meet senior party leaders in New Delhi to brief them about what happened in Jaipur on Sunday, the legislator added.
