The all-important Rajasthan meeting is set to take place next week and the Congress high command is hoping to find closure. But a photo op with chief minister Ashok Gehlot and party leader Sachin Pilot smiling and making up as a sign that all is well, may be tough to come by.
Only a few days before the meeting and in a sign that things may be rocky between the two leaders, the chief minister’s official adviser Sanyam Lodha asked as to why Sachin Pilot had not vacated the official residence even though he was no longer deputy chief minister. Asked to vacate his official house, senior leader Rahul Gandhi became the latest flashpoint between the Narendra Modi-led government and the Congress. So, is this demand, presumably on behalf of Gehlot, also going to be a contentious point between Pilot and the CM?
Gehlot has made it clear that he does not trust Pilot as his public stand – like holding the ‘Jan Sangharsh Yatra’ – would only embolden the BJP. In fact, the CM recently said it was “craziness” on Pilot’s part to demand an investigation into the exam scam allegedly involving former CM Vasundhara Raje Scindia.
Pilot has refused to be restrained anymore and accused Gehlot of considering Scindia his leader rather than Sonia Gandhi. He has also accused the CM of repeatedly humiliating him and calling him names.
Despite the fact that state incharge Sukhvinder Randhawa had asked for disciplinary action against Pilot for holding an unofficial yatra, the Congress is wary of doing so. Kamalnath, for example, has made it clear that such a step will boomerang, especially since Pilot is from the Gujjar community that holds a sizeable number of seats not just in Rajasthan but also Madhya Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.
It is this that has forced the party to hold a meeting next week to find a solution. There are many proposals doing the rounds. For example, Pilot can be made the state Congress chief. Sources said Gehlot is not as enthusiastic about this as during election time, the one who becomes the state unit chief will also have power over ticket distribution and, hence, power over the party.
Pilot has his heart set on becoming CM. It is this that a party wants to control but by looking at the war of words and the latest controversy over his residence, the storm is far from having blown over.
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