Jaipur (Rajasthan) : Once again, Rahul Gandhi and Malikarjun Kharge have ended the ongoing political cold war between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot. Even though the peace formula between the two leaders has not been revealed yet, the pictures of both leaders giving the message of "we are together" have surfaced for the fourth time since 2018.
In fact, the standoff between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot for the Chief Minister post in Rajasthan has been continuing ever since the formation of the Congress government in the State in the year 2018. In the last 4 years, four pictures have emerged in which both leaders are seen to project the message of unity.
First time in December 2018, smiling pictures of Gehlot and Pilot along with Rahul Gandhi surfaced to bridge the gap between the two after Gehlot won the race for the CM post. But those pictures remained only for show and soon Pilot rebelled against Gehlot. Later in August-July 2020, Sachin Pilot along with his supporters visited Delhi challenging the leadership of CM Ashok Gehlot when Priyanka Gandhi and Ahmed Patel intervened and rescued Pilot after an uproar that lasted for about 35 days. At that time, pictures showing the unity of Gehlot-Pilot once again surfaced.
In November–September 2022, the Congress Legislature Party meeting called by the high command was boycotted by some Congress MLAs who handed over their resignations to Speaker CP Joshi. The Pilot vs Gehlot feud reached its peak. But soon, they had to set aside their difference as Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra had to enter Rajasthan in December 2022. Both the leaders were seen walking together with Rahul Gandhi in the Yatra but the distance between the duo kept increasing.
In May 2023, once again the ongoing political war between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot intensified. Due to this Sachin Pilot first took out a foot march against his own government from Ajmer to Jaipur on the issue of corruption, and paper leak and on May 15, keeping his three demands, gave an ultimatum of 15 days to the government. Yet again Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge along with KC Venugopal have reconciled the two. How long this reconciliation will continue has become a matter of guesswork and curiosity among political circles now.
