New Delhi:Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s emotional appeal influenced Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his rival Sachin Pilot to present a picture of unity but the tough task of working out the fine print of the peace formula will have to be done by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.
“I am happy that the state issues have been sorted out. We will work out the details soon,” AICC in charge of Rajasthan Sukjinder Singh Randhawa told ETV Bharat. According to sources, on Monday Kharge held separate parleys with both Gehlot and Pilot in the first round of consultations and later with both the leaders together before the breakthrough in Rajasthan was reached.
AICC general secretary organization KC Venugopal made a formal announcement of the intended unity in the poll-bound state flanked by Gehlot and Pilot on either side after four hours of intensive consultations to resolve the old tussle between the two senior Rajasthan leaders.
Rahul Gandhi, who was present through the entire duration of the consultations, was keen to get the issue resolved before flying to the US for a scheduled visit on May 30 and therefore made an emotional pitch before Gehlot and Pilot, who were sticking to their stated positions, and assured them that the party will protect their interests and respect their political stature but before that could happen the two needed to win the state together.
According to sources, Rahul flagged the need for Congress to win Rajasthan after winning Karnataka and pointed out how the developments in the state would have a bearing in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, which too will go to polls around the same time. Subsequent to Rahul’s emotional appeal, Venugopal, Gehlot and Pilot appeared before the media but only the AICC general secretary in charge of organization did the talking. The two state leaders who are not camera shy remained silent.
According to party insiders, though the two leaders have agreed to work together for the party’s win, Pilot is still sticking to his key demands while Gehlot is firm with his stated positions. Also, the details of the final peace formula are yet to be worked out by Kharge as he had been contemplating several peace options to end the logjam in Rajasthan.
“This would include whether Pilot is given a key role in the organization by becoming the state unit chief or the campaign committee chief which ensures his involvement in managing the coming polls and also in ticket distribution,” said a senior AICC functionary. “The question would also arise about what happens to the incumbent state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara, considered close to Gehlot. If Pilot becomes state unit chief, what suitable position can be given to Dotasara needs some brainstorming. Finally, both the Gehlot and the Pilot camps would like to have a greater say in the ticket distribution,” he said.
According to sources, Pilot at present is just an MLA and has no say in the organization and it would be interesting to see how much space Gehlot is willing to give him. Apart from work allocation, how the chief minister will respond to Pilot’s demand of announcing a probe into the alleged corruption of former BJP chief minister Vasundhara Raje, would also have to be sorted out by Kharge, the sources added.
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