The Rajasthani chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his erstwhile deputy Sachin Pilot have decided to contest the next assembly elections together and have allowed all matters to be settled by the party high command, according to a statement released by Congress on Monday.
Ashok Gehlot, the chief minister, and Pilot participated in lengthy conversations with top Congress officials, including Rahul Gandhi and party leader Mallikarjun Kharge.
Sukhjinder Randhawa, who oversees state affairs for the Congress, was also present.
The Rajasthan chief minister and his former deputy finally had a face-to-face meeting after a protracted absence in front of senior party officials.
In order to develop the party’s plan for the assembly elections and corner the BJP, Kharge and Gandhi are conducting discussions with the governors of states that will go to the polls. Prior to the assembly elections, the party leadership is also making a concerted effort to put an end to the infighting in the Rajasthan unit and to reconcile the disagreements between the two leaders.
The top brass of the Congress met with senior Madhya Pradesh party officials in the morning, and Gandhi declared that the party will take 150 seats in the state.
What was said by the party?
With reports suggesting that the party had devised a plan for the two state leaders to collaborate and fight the assembly elections together, the party attempted to create the image that all was great in its Rajasthan unit.
Party general secretary K C Venugopal told reporters after the meeting at Kharge’s 10, Rajaji Marg home that both leaders had in-depth conversations with Kharge and Gandhi over the impending Rajasthan election.
“We have made the decision to fight this election together. He remarked, flanked by Gehlot and Pilot, “We have to work together as the Congress party and we will undoubtedly win the election in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan is likely to be a strong state for the Congress party, that much is obvious. We’re going to succeed. Gehlot ji and Sachin ji have so agreed to go together. “The Congress party will campaign together,” stated Venugopal.
He said that “both Ashok Ji and Sachin Ji, the leaders, agreed to the proposal on these things.”
When asked about the suggestion, Venugopal said, “Both have left it to the (party) high leadership. Both parties have agreed that the high command will make the choice.
He explained the decision-making process by saying, “We determined that both leaders have agreed to go together and it would be a combined struggle against the BJP. The state will go to us.
Later, Jairam Ramesh, the general secretary of the Congress, tweeted: “The Congress party is well on its way to repeating its Karnataka success in Rajasthan as well.”
Later, in a tweet, Venugopal said, “Our team in Rajasthan will unitedly fight the 2023 elections and break the decades-long tradition of alternating governments by registering a thumping victory!”
Pilot-Gehlot conflict
Pilot has been vocally critical of his own party’s chief minister and attacked the Gehlot administration on the subject of suspected corruption under the previous BJP administration headed by Vasundhara Raje.
The meeting is quickly following Pilot’s “ultimatum” that he would start a statewide agitation if three requests he made of the state administration were not fulfilled by the end of this month.
Launching a high-level investigation into the alleged frauds under the Vasundhara Raje administration was one of Pilot’s requests.
In a previous interview with reporters, Gehlot said that the party had no such custom of rewarding leaders with positions in order to appease them.
“As far as I’m aware, the Congress doesn’t have a history where a leader seeks a post and the party high leadership agrees to provide it. When questioned about rumours of a formula being developed to recruit Pilot, he said, “We have never heard of such a formula.
He dismissed the claims, saying, “Such a thing has never occurred in the Congress so far and it will never occur in the future. No leader or employee has the guts to make a position demand since the Congress party and its senior leadership are so powerful. That does not really occur.
Ever since the state’s government was established by the Congress in 2018, Gehlot and Pilot have been at odds over power. Pilot attempted to overthrow the Gehlot administration in 2020, and as a result, he lost his position as the party’s state unit president and deputy chief minister.
Pilot had ignored the party’s warning last month and carried out a day-long fast against Gehlot because of his claimed “inaction” over corruption during the previous Raje administration.
