JAIPUR: The tussle between Gehlot and Pilot camps in Rajasthan Congress seems to be intensifying in the run up to next year’s Assembly election. Sachin Pilot’s recent meetings with the Gandhi family have set off speculations about major changes in the state Congress.
Before he met with Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday, Pilot had held discussions with party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi and former party president Rahul Gandhi a few weeks ago. According to Congress insiders, Pilot is constantly in touch with the high command and this has created a big buzz about changes at top level in the state Congress ahead of the Assembly election.
The buzz about “big changes” in Rajasthan has received a sharp reaction from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. Terming the speculations as baseless, Gehlot on Saturday claimed he was not hankering for any post and had submitted a “permanent resignation” to Sonia Gandhi. Many see the reaction as a direct attack on Pilot.
The Congress high command faces a big dilemma as Pilot has not held any post since he was removed from the positions of party president and deputy chief minister two years ago. The Gehlot camp wants Pilot to be kept out of Rajasthan but Pilot is not ready to leave the state at any cost.The high command wants to ensure the tension between the two leaders does not worsen as it happened in Punjab, and is trying to find a middle way by constantly talking to Pilot.