JAIPUR: On the 25th death anniversary of former Union Minister and popular leader Rajesh Pilot, a special tribute meeting was held on Wednesday at Bhandana village in Rajasthan’s Dausa district. Besides the outpouring of sentiments and tributes, the memorial gathering saw his son Sachin Pilot and former CM Ashok Gehlot together at a function after a long time.
The Gehlot-Pilot rivalry has been one of the most prominent features of Rajasthan politics in recent times and has haunted the Congress for the past 10 years.
In a major twist at the Rajesh Pilot program, however, Gehlot surprisingly and completely denied the media reports of his rift with Sachin Pilot and said “when were I and Pilot separate? We were never far from each other. We have always shared a bond of love and affection."
During this brief media interaction, Ashok Gehlot also recalled that “Rajesh Pilot and I worked together for 18 years. He left suddenly, it still hurts. He had affection for the poor, for the common people. There is so much enthusiasm among the people; today the elderly have also come, the youth have also come. Those who worked with him, they also came and those who have heard about him, they have also come.”
An exhibition related to Rajesh Pilot was also set up at the prayer meeting venue. Many leaders, including Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot got up from the prayer meeting and headed towards the exhibition. During this, the crowd swelled. The crowd came between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot. When Sachin saw that Gehlot was left behind, Pilot himself stopped and took Ashok Gehlot along, then moved forward.
This program was not limited to just tribute but became a symbol of unity and coordination amidst the political tussle going on within the Congress. The clear presence of Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot on the stage indicated that Rajasthan Congress now wants to move forward unitedly, leaving behind the differences. On the one hand, this program remembered the contribution of Rajesh Pilot, while on the other hand, it also gave a new positive signal to Congress politics in Rajasthan.
It is worth noting that a few days ago, Congress leader and AICC General Secretary Sachin Pilot had reached the Civil Lines government residence of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur. This meeting was held in connection with inviting him for the program to be organised on the occasion of the 25th death anniversary of Rajesh Pilot.
As is well-known, over the past decade or more, there has been unending political tension between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot for a long time. When Sachin Pilot was a strong contender for the post of Chief Minister in the 2018 assembly elections, the Congress high command made Ashok Gehlot the Chief Minister and Sachin Pilot the Deputy Chief Minister. After this, the differences between the two leaders deepened within a year and a half.
In July 2020, Sachin had led a revolt against Gehlot’s leadership which triggered a huge crisis for the congress in Rajasthan. Gehlot had then claimed that Pilot was colluding with the BJP which was trying to topple his government. Later, in September 2022, Gehlot himself was seen to have inspired a coup by Congress MLAs when the party High Command wanted Gehlot to become the AICC President and install Pilot as Rajasthan CM.
Given the long history of bitterness between the duo, the Congress in Rajasthan has remained a faction-ridden unit. But Gehlot’s conciliatory remarks on Wednesday are being seen as a sign of a thaw in the Gehlot-Pilot rift. In political circles in Jaipur these fresh developments are being seen as a major shift in the internal dynamics within the Rajasthan Congress.