Journalism of Courage
Former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot launched an offensive on the Ashok Gehlot camp on Wednesday, drawing new party chief Mallikarjun Kharge’s attention towards the pending decision on notices to three loyalists of the Chief Minister and taking potshots at Gehlot himself.
For almost a month, there was relative calm in Rajasthan Congress following Congress general secretary K C Venugopal’s September 29 direction to party leaders in Rajasthan to refrain from making “public statements against other leaders or about party’s internal matters”. This was preceded by the events of September 25, when scores of MLAs, apparently annoyed over the Congress high command’s “unilateral” decision to opt for a new CM without consulting them, skipped a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting and submitted their resignation to Assembly Speaker CP Joshi.
However, Gehlot sidestepped this advisory and on October 2 he attacked Pilot at length as well as the then party state in-charge Ajay Maken, without naming either of them. He also defended the actions of his loyalists. On October 17, Gehlot again attacked Pilot indirectly, saying there was no alternative to experience and that the youth should have patience and wait for their turn.
Through mention of the coming Budget, his face on billboards, road banners, and newspaper ads — partly due to the Investment Summit in October — Gehlot, constantly batting on the front foot, has been asserting that he isn’t going anywhere.
In contrast, since his unsuccessful 2020 rebellion, Pilot has been extra cautious about what he says in public. And so far, he has been politically correct and toed the party line in his comments on the developments within the party with the objective of portraying a “good-boy” image before the high command and drawing a contrast with Gehlot’s aggressive statements.
However, it’s been over a month since Venugopal promised an answer to the Rajasthan question in “one to two days”. It seemed that it would be addressed after the presidential elections but party leaders are now busy with Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat while Rahul Gandhi is busy with the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Hence, a restless Pilot has set the ball rolling once again. With his comments, he has made it amply clear that he will not stand the status quo and the party, under the new leadership, needs to take a call on the notices to three leaders.
The larger message is that there is barely a year left now before the state goes to polls and so the party needs to address the issue of CM now. For Pilot, who has nothing to lose at this point, this is the only glimmer of hope as he doesn’t seem to hold any cards. “We want him as the CM now, and not that Gehlot continues as CM till next year and Pilot is declared as CM face for 2023 polls. This doesn’t work,” said a Pilot loyalist.
For the Pilot camp, continuing with Gehlot as CM and declaring Pilot as CM face next year may take away the anger of the youth towards Gehlot and their sympathy for Pilot. Moreover, the Pilot camp firmly believes that a change in Rajasthan is needed if Congress wants to break the 30-year cycle and return to power in the state. That change, they say, is Pilot as CM.
But with no official word from Kharge, the Pilot camp seems to be making its last-ditch effort to draw his attention.
Hence, Rajasthan is one of Kharge’s more difficult challenges. The resignations of Gehlot camp MLAs, to protest against any possibility of his removal, are still with Speaker C P Joshi. Joshi is known to be close to Gehlot, and this gives the CM considerable leverage over the party, which can’t let another state get out of its control.
And with Gehlot known to play his cards right, Kharge needs to come up with a smart solution without damaging the state unit. Having maintained his composure so far, an already restless Pilot may not be so calm the next time he plans something.
