Pilot On The Warpath, Ignores High Command Warning
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2023-04-11 08:28:48
About the Author
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
At least in
two states where elections are scheduled to be held this year - Rajasthan and Karnataka - the Congress party finds factionalism in the state units causing problems and
seriously hampering its electoral prospects. The case of Rajasthan is serious
as Sachin Pilot, who was given to understand by the party high command that he
will get his due in due course, is becoming impatient as less than eight months
remain for elections. Pilot held a press conference where he played old videos
of chief minister Ashok Gehlot and alleged that Gehlot has taken no action in
cases of corruption against the previous BJP regime headed by Vasundhara Raje
Scindia. He also alleged that the chief minister did not respond to his two
letters on the subject. Pilot is also holding a one-day fast today to highlight
the issue despite the high command's stern warning not to do so.
It would
not be wrong to say that Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot are sworn enemies who
happen to be on the same side of the fence. There is nothing common between
them except their membership of the Congress party. The Congress high command,
since the time Pilot rebelled and almost broke the state unit in 2020, has
tried to keep the two warring state satraps in good humour by promising Pilot
that he will be elevated soon. But the Congress trick of elevating Gehlot as national
party president and Pilot as state chief minister did not work out as Gehlot
refused to agree to Pilot's elevation. Since then, Gehlot has strengthened his
grip over the state unit and Pilot is yearning for a fight.
Rajasthan
has never voted back the incumbent in decades. But this time Gehlot thinks he
can spring a surprise as he has introduced many welfare schemes, including the
controversial right to health bill. But if the state unit remains divided, the
party will suffer. It seems that the Congress high command is not approaching
the Pilot-Gehlot feud with the seriousness it deserves. Both of them are equally
important to the party's prospects in the state and the high command has to work
diligently and with speed to ensure that Pilot remains in the party. It remains to be seen what step the high command takes after Pilto's show of defiance in going ahead with the fast.
