On the advice of party president Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader Sachin Pilot made it plain on Saturday that he has put his differences with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot behind them. Pilot said that under the circumstances, joint leadership was the “only way” to win the next assembly elections.
Days after the party’s important meeting to discuss its Rajasthan election strategy, Pilot said in an interview with PTI that Kharge had counseled him to “forgive and forget” and go on.
It was both a mandate and a recommendation. “Ashok Gehlot ji is older and more experienced than I am. He carries a great deal of responsibility. I made an effort to include everyone while I served as president of the Rajasthan Congress. He is attempting to bring everyone along since, in my opinion, he is now the Chief Minister (Gehlot).
“The party and the public are more important than any one person, so if there is a little back and forth, it is not a huge deal. The former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan added, “He and I both realize this.
When asked about Gehlot calling him names in the past and his criticism of the Gehlot administration over its inaction on problems like corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje administration, Pilot said that Congress chief Kharge told him in a meeting that the past is gone and that one must look to the future.
“He (Kharge) advised that everyone should forgive, forget, and go ahead. I firmly think that we must now forward and take on fresh problems. The success of our nation depends on the Congress. We must work together and advance in a fashion that is acceptable to the people and the party workers if we are to win the support of the people of Rajasthan, Pilot remarked.
Therefore, it is pointless to discuss who said what or when since it is meaningless. I have always avoided using any words or expressions that I find repulsive or that I wouldn’t like to hear about myself. Maintaining a certain level of verbal decency is always advisable in public life and politics, according to Pilot.
He said, “Winning elections is our next challenge; individuals or statements no longer matter; those were bygones.”
His comments follow a discussion on election strategy held at the AICC headquarters here with Kharge, former party leader Rahul Gandhi, AICC representative for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Randhawa, president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee Govind Dotasra, and numerous MLAs and ministers from the state. Gehlot joined the meeting via video conference while still having pain in his toes.
Following the meeting, the Congress on Thursday said it can win the Rajasthan assembly elections if there is unity and issued a warning of harsh action against anyone speaking outside the party forum and failing to maintain discipline. The party also said it may not choose a chief ministerial candidate for elections scheduled for later this year.
In response to a question on KC Venugopal’s comments that the Congress never announces its nominee for chief minister, “I believe what Mr. Venugopal ji said is not incorrect,” the pilot remarked. Elections are not fought by a single person every time we go to the polls. So, in 2018, I served as the state party president. During our joint election campaign, we never said that X, Y, or Z would be the face of the CM. That choice is made after the election. Pilot said that the Congress party, including the national and state leadership, functions as a one entity and that the Congress administration in Rajasthan is not about A, B, or C.
“Neither our performance nor our policies are individualized. The cabinet, the CM, and I are all present, and they are founded on the ideologies of the Congress party.He argued that teamwork rather than a person determines success or failure.
Since it is ultimately a parliamentary democracy where elected MLAs and leadership meet and decide who will lead the government, he said, “I don’t want to add anything to what Mr. Venugopal said, but he is absolutely correct that the Congress party has traditionally never announced any names of individuals who would head the government.”
Pilot emphasized that the current task is to counter the 25-year-old anti-incumbency tendency. It is concerning that we establish the administration and then do poorly in the subsequent elections, he remarked.
When asked whether collaborative leadership was the best course of action in Rajasthan, Pilot said, “It is the only way to go.” “As I’ve stated before, nobody has the right to declare or assert that he or she has the secret formula for winning elections. Always a group effort. More than leaders, it is the workers; we must motivate them. They must feel dedicated and engaged, and as Rahul Gandhi has said, party workers must feel included in decision-making, he continued.
When asked about his worry about anti-incumbency, Pilot said that every administration has some unfinished business, just as there is anti-incumbency in Rajasthan and other areas.
“I think the public is aware of our party’s and the government’s goals. Every program the administration has introduced has garnered positive feedback from the populace. It is our responsibility to spread awareness of such programs, he stated.
Pilot also argued that the only factor used to choose candidates for the polls should be their likelihood of winning, not their affiliation with a certain group.
He also advocated for supporting and allowing new leaders to demonstrate their abilities in hustings.
Pilot said that he had always performed his job with the greatest commitment in the past and that he would accept whatever decision the party high command made about his future position.
He did, however, add that he has never been afraid to state that Rajasthan is where his heart resides.
Pilot also made fun of the BJP, saying that it was suffering from internal strife and uncertainty.
“History is about to be made by us. We may end up with more seats than we did the previous time, he remarked.
Pilot said, “I believe people realize that their votes are vital and every vote counts. I think people understand that their votes are essential and every vote counts. Therefore, although I don’t want to ignore or minimize any political challenges we may have in Rajasthan, I can say with some degree of certainty that the Congress and the BJP will be engaged in a major political battle. Additionally, he emphasized that the Congress has to win a lot more states in order to have a platform of Congress-ruled states in 2024, which would undoubtedly pay off in the Lok Sabha elections.
“We did not fare well at all in the 2018 parliamentary elections, despite winning the three states (Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan), but those were unique conditions. I don’t want to delve into the specifics of what transpired during those elections, but that, in my opinion, is one specific example, and now that people have seen nine years of the NDA administration, the double engine has generally failed,” Pilot added.
Ever since the state’s government was established by the Congress in 2018, Gehlot and Pilot have been at odds over power. Pilot organized a coup against the Gehlot administration in 2020, which resulted in his dismissal from his positions as the party’s state unit president and deputy chief minister.
Gehlot partisans dug in their heels and prevented a legislative party meeting from taking place, which caused the high command’s effort to enact a leadership transition in Rajasthan last year to fail.
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.