Hyderabad: The Gandhi family seems to have mastered the art of losing one state after the other, despite winning them fair and square at the elections. Hence, it came as no surprise when the party lost Madhya Pradesh to Shivraj Singh Chouhan - a result of its inept handling of the political situation in the state.
Though it looked like Rajasthan would slip out of the Congress' hands just the way Madhya Pradesh did, just in the nick of time, central leaders managed to cajole and placate Sachin Pilot, who had been up in arms against Chief minister Ashok Gehlot.
Sources revealed that it was Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who used her charm and told Sachin Pilot not to switch over to the saffron party.
Even though the political storm seems to have ebbed for now, the question still arises as to how long will Pilot put up with working under Gehlot.
In the political circles, the camaraderie between Jyotiraditya Scindia and Sachin Pilot is well known. Scindia, the scion of Gwalior Gharana, had joined the BJP despite doing extremely well with the Congress in the 2018 elections. Scindia believed he was sidelined by the top congress leaders, his supporters were marginalised and his concerns were not addressed.
Read: Rajasthan political crisis: BJP claims Gehlot govt lost majority, Cong says winning number game
Sachin Pilot was facing the same predicament, as even after being appointed as the deputy chief minister and wearing the hat of the party’s state president, he was still at odds with Gehlot. However, sources claim that it was Gehlot himself who baited Pilot to rebel against the Congress, as the latter was dubbed to be the former’s potential successor.
In a sarcastic remark, former Congress leader Sanjay Jha questioned why Ashok Gehlot was made the Chief Minister despite having tasted the worst ever defeat in the 2013 elections with the party just winning just 21. Jha went on to credit Pilot for the turnaround in the party’s fortunes, as it won 101 seats in 2018, paving the way for a Congress government in Rajasthan.
Read: Rajasthan crisis: Cong leader Sanjay Jha backs pilot, calls his contribution 'heroic'
To make matters worse, the close aides of Sachin Pilot alleged that chief minister Gehlot had been misusing the Home Ministry to quell the dissent against him.
In a major development last Friday, the special operation group of the Rajasthan Police sent a notice to even Pilot, which irked the deputy CM. The SOG reports directly to the home ministry, which is currently under the Chief Minister himself.
Deputy opposition leader in the state Assembly, Rajendra Rathor too echoed similar views, as he said that Gehlot had been misusing the SOG to threaten both opposition leaders and even Congress MLAs from the Pilot faction.
Sensing his helplessness, Pilot consciously started to drift away from the Congress, only because he felt hurt in the company of the immensely experienced and wily Ashok Gehlot. However, he publicly maintained stoic silence over their political equations.
Sachin Pilot's angst was well known ever since the Congress victory in 2018, as he felt he had been conveniently sidelined despite working hard as the party’s state president and leading them to victory.
Read: Rajasthan crisis: Rahul's envy causing Congress destruction, says Uma
Even though the Congress party has been out of power for the last six years at the Centre, the complacency within the Gandhi family continues, and has made life difficult for the real leaders. According to sources, Gehlot managed to make the political situation in the state so intensely divisive, that it became untenable for Pilot to carry on in this situation.
Naranayan Baret, who worked for BBC for close to two decades, said that compared to Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot was much more aware of the ground-dwelling.
While Sachin Pilot has emerged as an icon among the youth, and the Congress does see a future in him; Ashok Gehlot, on the other hand, is an experienced campaigner and proven troubleshooter for the party. This in principle, is a clash between the old and the new. Though it is well known that Gehlot shares a very good relationship with Sonia Gandhi, it would be imprudent on the part of the Congress to lose a young icon like Sachin.
Talking about the present political crisis, Congress national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said that “even if there are differences within the family, which is anything but natural, doors are always open for Sachin Pilot and others to sort them out.”
Read: BJP's conspiracy can't topple Congress govt in Rajasthan: Surjewala
The Congress party's conciliatory note shows that it is not ready to lose a promising face in Rajasthan as it is already facing a dearth of mass leaders. Losing a leader like Sachin Pilot due to internal politics would have been a real shocker for the party.
It was only recently that Jyotiraditya Scindia decided to join the BJP after Congress didn't give him an equal playing field in comparison to senior leader Kamal Nath. This happens when the central leadership does not listen to you, or there is a lack of communication between the central leadership and the local satraps. Scindia has a very good hold in Madhya Pradesh politics, just as his father Madhav Rao Scindia was considered a big leader of the party.
Read: Rajasthan: Over 90 MLAs present at CLP meeting
But there exists a thumb rule within the Congress, that no matter how brightly you shine, you should never overshadow the glow of the Gandhi family heir.
There is a murmur in the Congress party to bring back Rahul Gandhi at the top slot as party president, but political pundits opine - why not think about Sachin Pilot as Congress president?
Hence, it is the Congress which is responsible for its current state, its biggest mistake being that it does not see anything beyond the Gandhi family.
