New Delhi: Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Sachin Pilot, who has been locked in a power tussle with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for years, left the Chief Ministerial issue open-ended on Thursday saying that the party’s high command will decide, who gets what role after the Assembly polls.
“As far as the Chief Ministerial issue is concerned, it has been the party’s tradition that after winning the polls, the newly elected MLAs in consultation with the senior leaders and the high command decide, who becomes the Chief Minister. I am not saying this in the context of Rajasthan, but all the five Assembly polls taking place,” Pilot said.
Pilot was responding to a recent comment made by Gehlot that though he was ready to leave the Chief Minister’s chair, the post was not allowing him to leave and probably would not leave after the November 25 Assembly polls. “In a crucial election, not one person but the entire organisation fights the polls under collective leadership. It includes both experienced leaders and those who are young. He must have said that from his own experience. Whatever he said is correct. Right now, our main focus is on fighting the Assembly elections unitedly. I don’t know the future. The party will decide who gets what role,” said Pilot.
The Pilot-Gehlot tussle had been bothering the high command for a long, but a few months ago a patch-up was arrived at between the two senior state leaders with the intervention of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former chief Rahul Gandhi. Since then, it has been speculated in the party circles that Pilot may be given the top post in case the Congress is able to retain power in Rajasthan.
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“Khargeji told me that we have to fight the polls collectively and let bygones be bygones. I have followed his advice and moved on. The party will decide who sits in the cockpit,” said Pilot.
Pilot had led the party to victory in 2018 but lost the Chief Ministerial race to Gehlot. Pilot had been made a deputy chief minister but lost the post after he led an alleged rebellion by supporting MLAs in 2020. Since then, Pilot has been trying to get a prominent role either in the party or the state government.
After the patch-up, Pilot was made a member of the powerful CWC by Kharge to give him a central role and present him as a key leader in the state. “Winning the five states Assembly polls is crucial for the Congress as it will lead to the INDIA alliance win in the 2024 national elections,” Pilot said.
The Congress on Thursday deployed Pilot to defend Gehlot’s son Vaibhav, who was summoned by the ED in an alleged corruption case and state unit chief Govind Singh Dotasara, a close aide of the Chief Minister whose residence was raided by the ED.
“The Congress is not against probes in corruption cases but there should be no targeting of opposition leaders without any proof or evidence. The raids today against Dotasara were just meant to threaten him while a 12-year-old case has been revived to target Vaibhav. We condemn such political witch-hunting. The timing and intent of the raids are suspicious. It is because the BJP has sensed its defeat in the coming polls. We are against such weaponisation of the central agencies,” said Pilot. Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25. Results will be out on December 3.
