Amid Gehlot-Pilot rift shadow on Rahul Yatra, Rajasthan Cong scrambles for a united face

Both CM Gehlot and Pilot, former Deputy CM, are part of the state-level coordination committee for supervising the Yatra’s preparations, constituted by the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC). This was announced by the RPCC president Govind Singh Dotasra on Saturday.

Torn by a protracted power tussle between Gehlot and Pilot, the state Congress now faces an immediate challenge to execute a truce between the warring factions of the two top party leaders before the Yatra reaches the state. Pilot’s possible elevation to the CM’s post was stalled in September after loyalist MLAs of Gehlot submitted their resignations in protest, when the latter had emerged as a leading candidate for the election to the Congress national president’s post.

Several Pilot loyalists in the Rajasthan Congress recently demanded that the party high command resolve the leadership tangle before the Yatra enters the state.

Apart from Gehlot and Pilot, the high-level coordination committee for the Yatra has members from both the factions, with the Gehlot faction getting significantly more representation than that of the rival group.

The committee comprises of Pilot supporters such as senior Congress leaders Girija Vyas, Hemaram Choudhary and Narayan Singh. It also has other senior party leaders including Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, known to be a close Rahul aide, the party’s Gujarat in-charge Raghu Sharma and his Punjab counterpart Harish Choudhary.

A senior Jat leader and ex-minister, Harish Choudhary had been at loggerheads with his own government over the protest by the OBC communities against the current quota allocation for ex-servicemen. In an angry outburst, Choudhary even confronted Gehlot while demanding why the issue was not resolved.

Several sitting ministers including Mamta Bhupesh, Govind Ram Meghwal, BD Kalla, Ashok Chandna, Pratap Singh Khachariyawas, Parsadi Lal Meena, Pramod Jain Bhaya, Bhanwar Singh Bhati and Lalchand Kataria have been inducted into the coordination panel and have been entrusted various duties including arrangements like transport, healthcare, communication, food, water and electricity for the Yatra.

However, the three Gehlot loyalists — two ministers, Mahesh Joshi and Shanti Dhariwal, along with RTDC chairman Dharmendra Rathore — who were slapped with show-cause notices by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) leadership for holding a parallel Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in Jaipur on September 25, have not been included in the coordination committee.

Recently, upset over no action being taken against these three leaders, the AICC’s Rajasthan in-charge Ajay Maken resigned from his post.

Earlier this week, in the wake of reports that party leaders like Rathore were making arrangements for the Yatra, the Pilot faction had raised strong objections.