Congress leader Sachin Pilot sat on a day-long fast against his own government in Rajasthan on Tuesday. None of his supporters carried any Congress symbol or flag. Needless to say, the symbolism — or rather, the lack of it — once again intensified the speculation about Pilot’s next move.
New Delhi,UPDATED: Apr 11, 2023 18:50 IST
Congress leader Sachin Pilot sits on a hunger strike against the alleged corruption during previous BJP government in Rajasthan at Shaheed Smarak in Jaipur. (Photo: PTI)
By Adarsh T R: Congress leader Sachin Pilot ended his day-long protest fast demanding action from his own Congress-led government in Rajasthan on corruption cases during the BJP’s term in the state. Sachin Pilot’s protest on Tuesday was held even as the Congress’s state unit said on Monday that Pilot’s protest was against party interests and that the former deputy chief minister should resolve any issues he has with the Ashok Ghelot government internally.
Pilot went ahead with his protest on Tuesday and what caught attention was the absence of any Congress symbols or markings at the Shaheed Smarak Sthal protest venue in Jaipur. Sachin Pilot, an MLA from Tonk, sat in front of a huge banner featuring Mahatma Gandhi. Two smaller pictures — one of Mahatma Gandhi and another of social reformer Jyotirao Phule — were placed near the stage. That was all that formed the backdrop of Sachin Pilot’s protest on Tuesday.
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No incumbent MLA of the ruling party was seen at the venue of the fast — something that had been expected — but several other leaders and his supporters, including former MLAs Santosh Saharan and Ramnarayan Gurjar, were present.
Throughout Pilot’s day-long fast, none of his supporters carried any Congress symbols or flags.
Needless to say, the symbolism — or rather, the lack of it — once again intensified the speculation about Sachin Pilot’s next move and raised questions about whether the leader was looking to split away from the Congress party.
RAJASTHAN LEADERSHIP CRISIS
Sachin Pilot’s agitation amid a factional feud in the Congress is seen as an attempt to put pressure on the party one last time to resolve the leadership issue in Rajasthan ahead of Assembly polls due later this year.
The crisis within the Rajasthan Congress began when the party came to power in 2018. Pilot was the Rajasthan Congress chief back then. But the party opted for senior leader Ashok Gehlot for the chief minister’s post over Pilot, who had campaigned hard for the party.
Amid tensions, the Congress high command appointed Ashok Gehlot to the top post for a third time and Pilot was made his deputy.
But the crisis blew over in July 2020 when Pilot and a section of Congress MLAs rebelled openly against Gehlot, demanding a change of leadership in the state. It led to a month-long political crisis that ended after the party high command’s assurance to look into the issues raised by Pilot.
Following the brief rebellion, Sachin Pilot removed mention of ‘Congress’ from his official Twitter handle and Gehlot used terms such as traitor and ‘nikamma’ for his former deputy. Pilot also lost the post of state Congress chief.
What followed were accusations against Pilot by Gehlot, who enjoyed the support of most of the Congress MLAs. Gehlot accused Pilot of being involved with BJP leaders in a conspiracy to topple the Congress government in the state.
The crisis appeared to be over till a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting was convened to pass a one-line resolution authorising the party high command to decide on a change in the state leadership. This was necessary as Ashok Gehlot was in the race for the party president’s post last year and it was believed that he would have to give up the CM’s post in that eventuality.
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PILOT VS GEHLOT
However, the meeting could not take place because of a parallel meeting, where many of the Congress MLAs offered their resignation letters addressed to the Assembly speaker. This was seen as a preemptive move by the MLAs against the party making Pilot the new chief minister.
Gehlot, who remained the chief minister, again targeted his rival with a ‘gaddar’ remark while Pilot waited for the Congress leadership to resolve the leadership issue.
Fast forward to Tuesday, Pilot, by using the anti-corruption plank, seems to have opened a new front against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is aiming to return as the CM after elections are held later this year.
So far, the Congress has not formally responded to Pilot’s defiance except for a stern warning that was seen as an attempt to deescalate tensions within party ranks.
“Sachin Pilot’s day-long fast is against the party interests and is anti-party activity. If there is any issue with his own government, it can be discussed in the party forums instead of in the media and public,” Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said in a statement.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Sachin Pilot and the Congress.
