Rajasthan Crisis: Sachin Pilot Keeps Congress On The Edge, BJP Adopts Wait And Watch Policy

The Gehlot-Pilot feud had begun soon after the Congress wrested power from the BJP in the December 2018 assembly polls. Pilot, who had led the campaign as the Rajasthan Congress chief and spent the preceding five years trying to revive his down-and-out party in the desert state believed바카라�he still does바카라�that the CM바카라�s chair was rightfully his. However, the majority of the Congress바카라�s 101 MLAs supported Gehlot, as did a dozen independently elected legislators. It took then Congress president Rahul Gandhi four days to arrive at a compromise bet­ween the two contenders. Finally, given his popularity in the Congress legislative party (CLP) and acceptance among 20 other legislators who had extended support to the party to form a government, Gehlot returned as CM for a third time, with Pilot as his deputy. Later, Gehlot got six BSP legislators who were supporting his government to merge with the Congress; taking the party바카라�s legislative strength to 107, a thin but clear majority. The BJP, with 72 MLAs and support of three others, was a long way off the simple majority mark of 101.

On July 11, following 19 months of sporadic skirmishes and progressively worsening ego clashes, Pilot decided he had played second fiddle to Gehlot for long enough. The immediate flashpoint was a summons issued to him by the Special Operations Group (SOG) tasked by Gehlot to investigate allegations of BJP바카라�s attempts at toppling his government during last month바카라�s Rajya Sabha polls. Media reports also claimed that the SOG had taped conversations between two BJP workers바카라�both under arrest now바카라�in which there was a mention of Pilot wanting to bec­ome the CM but the BJP offering him a ministerial berth at the Centre. Pilot, says a close aide, saw this as an 바카라�att­empt by Gehlot to discredit him바카라� and tell the Gandhi family that the ambitious 42-year-old deputy CM 바카라�cannot be trusted바카라�.

Pilot left Jaipur for Delhi and several of his loyalists followed; checking in to a five star hotel in Gurgaon. Coming just four months after Jyotiraditya Scindia pulled a similar move that eventually brought down the Congress-led Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh, Pilot바카라�s sudden flight triggered rumours that he was preparing for a saffron waltz too. A day later, on July 12, as Gehlot huddled to contain the raging desert storm, Pilot told some mediapersons that he 바카라�will not join the BJP바카라�. If there were few takers for Pilot바카라�s assertion, it was because a close aide of the deputy CM had simultaneously circulated a message on a WhatsApp group claiming that the Tonk legislator had the support of 30 MLAs and the Gehlot government was in a minority. The mixed signalling led Congress leaders Avinash Pande, Randeep Surjewala and Ajay Maken바카라�dispatched to Jaipur from Delhi to take stock of the crisis바카라�to convene a media briefing at 2.30 AM and assert that 109 MLAs continued to support Gehlot and that the government had the required majority to last a full term.

On July 13, Gehlot convened a meeting of the CLP in Jaipur and a whip was issued for all members to attend. Party leaders indicated informally that those who skip the meeting would be liable for disciplinary action. Meanwhile, party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, P. Chidambaram, Ahmed Patel and K.C. Venugopal reached out to Pilot, urging him to return to Jaipur for the meet and place his grievances before the central observers. Pilot refused and stayed put in Delhi. The CLP meeting passed a motion for disciplinary action against the rebels while a headcount revealed that Gehlot had the support of at least 107 MLAs. The Pilot camp shot back, calling the claim false. Sacked Rajasthan minister and Pilot loyalist Ramesh Meena tells Outlook, 바카라�If Gehlot has the majority let him prove it on the floor of the house바카라�the whip issued for the CLP meeting has no meaning and we have not done anything against the party.바카라�

On July 14, another CLP was convened and the party again reached out to Pilot. However, Pilot skipped the meet again. Finally, the Congress decided to up the ante. Congress media cell chief Randeep Surjewala announced that Pilot was being sacked as deputy CM and the PCC chief. Two other rebel leaders바카라�Vishvendra Singh and Meena바카라�were also dropped from the cabinet. The party imm­ediately appointed minister and three-term legislator Govind Singh Dotasra as PCC chief. Surjewala blamed the BJP for conspiring to topple the Rajasthan government and said that Pilot and his loyalists had been 바카라�trapped by the BJP바카라� to become co-conspirators. Surjewala and other Congress leaders also asserted that Pilot바카라�s grouse over being sidelined is misplaced since in a political career of just 16 years, he had gone from being a Lok Sabha MP to Union minister and then PCC chief and deputy CM바카라�a resume most seasoned and veteran politicians can바카라�t boast of.

Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi then wrote to Assembly Speaker C.P. Joshi, apprising him of the 바카라� anti-party activities바카라� by Pilot and his 18 loyalists and urged him to 바카라�initiate necessary proceedings바카라� against the rebels in accordance with rules mandating conduct of legislators, setting the ball rolling for their disqualification as MLAs.

Rajasthan transport minister Pratap Singh Khachariyawas tells Outlook, 바카라�What option was left with us after Pilot and others defied the whip twice바카라�the people of Rajasthan voted for us because they wanted the Congress to govern and not so that we hand power back to the BJP through such betrayal.바카라� Responding to Pilot바카라�s claim that he wasn바카라�t joining the BJP, Khachariyawas says, 바카라�Then why are they staying in a resort and not speaking to any party leader publicly바카라�if they wanted to just register a protest, they could have marched to the AICC office and sat on a dharna at its lawns.바카라�

Sources say that even after C.P. Joshi issued notices to Pilot and his supporters to file a written response by 1 PM on July 17 to the Congress party바카라�s complaint of 바카라�anti-party activities against them, failing which they would be disqualified as MLAs, efforts to reach out to the rebels were made. 바카라�We have said it before and are saying it again; our doors are open to them바카라�Sachin Pilot should come and talk to us, we have a responsibility to the people of Rajasthan,바카라� says Avinash Pande, the Congress in-charge for Rajasthan.

The Speaker바카라�s notice and the Congress바카라�s contention that the rebels have defied a whip are being challenged in the Rajasthan High Court. Pilot바카라�s lawyers are Mukul Rohatgi and Harish Salve바카라� both trusted legal eagles of the BJP in such cases. The Congress sees Pilot바카라�s legal team as a definite pointer to his changed political affiliation.    

Congress sources say Pilot made some 바카라�non-negotiable demands바카라� to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. 바카라�He wants the party to declare publicly that he will be made the CM a year before the next assembly polls and that Pande will be sacked immediately as Rajasthan in-charge. He also wants Gehlot to apologise to him for the humiliation of the SOG summon바카라�how can we do any of this, especially after Gehlot has just proved that he enjoys majority support while Pilot is trying to bring down the government? This is blackmail. Besides, exactly the same summon was sent to Gehlot too,바카라� a Congress office bearer tells Outlook.

Gehlot also took Pilot to the cleaners in an angry monologue before the press. 바카라�We have proof that the deputy CM and PCC chief was conspiring with BJP to topple the government바카라�they were discussing the amount of money to be paid바카라�horse-trading,바카라� Gehlot said. 바카라�These people (like Pilot) have not toiled to come up the ranks바카라�. I have become CM after working on the ground for 40 years. They just came and became Union ministers, deputy CM, PCC chief바카라�spe­a­king fluent English and good looks don바카라�t make a leader; you need to be com­m­itted to an ideology, policies, to the public.바카라�

Pilot is yet to respond to Gehlot바카라�s diatribe. A source close to the Tonk MLA tells Outlook, 바카라�All options are open for him바카라�let us see what happens; we are confident that Gehlot doesn바카라�t have the majority he is claiming to have.바카라� Cong­ress sources in the Gehlot camp say they are certain that Pilot will join the BJP. However, what seems to be holding him back, says a former Pilot aide now loyal to Gehlot, is that 바카라�BJP will have little need for him if he can바카라�t topple the Cong­ress government and in such a scenario Pilot won바카라�t get any major post from the BJP too.바카라�

Many Congress leaders have publicly declared that the party must make every effort to retain Pilot within its fold. 바카라�It isn바카라�t just about letting another promising young leader walk away after Scindia, but also about the optics and effect such exits have on party workers and the common public바카라�everyone is talking about how people are leaving the Congress and the high-command isn바카라�t bothered; how do you expect to create confidence in the party if this continues?바카라� asks a former Union minister.

The BJP, meanwhile, has adopted a wait and watch policy. Its Rajasthan unit leaders have been meeting daily to discuss the developments while state BJP chief Satish Poonia has been taunting Gehlot for running an 바카라�ineffective government that does not have a mandate바카라�. Gulab Chand Kataria, leader of oppo­si­tion in the Rajasthan assembly tells Out­l­ook that his party has 바카라�absolutely no role to play in Pilot바카라�s rebellion바카라�. But he adds, 바카라�Tomorrow if a situation arises that gives us a chance to form a government, why will we not take it? As of today, we don바카라�t have the numbers, so there is no question of staking a claim.바카라�

The current crisis has reignited demands within the Congress for a quick resolution to the leadership question, so that the party knows the direction it wants to take and how it wishes to fight the BJP. While this may still take some time, the immediate concern for the Congress remains whether it can still prevent Pilot바카라�another Rahul Gandhi confidant, like Scindia바카라�from walking away. Conversely, if Pilot stays and is placated with a plum post, how would the Congress justify this to Gehlot and his supporters? Also, the fissures within the Rajasthan Congress바카라�s edifice are now split wide open before the BJP and the party is certain to keep hammering at them in the hope of dismantling the structure. Which way would the ball fall on the roulette wheel?