Sachin Pilot Meets MLAs, Supporters Amid Buzz On Chhattisgarh-Like “Solution”

Jaipur:

All eyes are now on Rajasthan after the last-minute appointment of TS Singh Deo, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s rival, as Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister ahead of assembly elections later this year. The move has set off speculation that Congress might attempt to buy peace in the western border state as well, by accommodating Sachin Pilot, who has been at loggerheads with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, into a more prominent role in the party.

Sachin Pilot had congratulated Mr Deo, whose revolt in 2021 brought the Congress government to the brink before the Gandhis intervened, on his elevation in a tweet late Wednesday night.

श्री टी. एस. सिंह देव जी को छत्तीसगढ़ का उप मुख्यमंत्री बनाए जाने पर हार्दिक बधाई एवं शुभकामनाएं।@TS_SinghDeopic.twitter.com/lSbnD3GJ9j

— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) June 28, 2023

Mr Pilot, with a series of meetings with MLAs and his supporters after his return from Delhi, has set political circles abuzz in Jaipur. Though he has been discreet, his supporters seem upbeat.

The long-reported buzz that Mr Pilot, who recently escalated his attack on his own party colleague and Chief Minister, would see his responsibilities expanding to ease the pressure on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and to attempt some sort of detente before the Rajasthan election has not yet come to pass.

Mr Pilot’s solo campaign and unrelenting criticism of his own party government for months has deeply embarrassed the Congress.

The three Congress-ruled states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh will vote later this year, at the same time.

Similar to the power struggle in Rajasthan between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot, the conflict in Chhattisgarh emerged shortly after the party assumed power in 2018. In August 2021, Mr Deo asserted his right to the Chief Minister’s post, claiming that the Congress had promised him a rotational arrangement. With the support of 55 out of 70 Congress MLAs, Mr Baghel made it clear he would not quit without a fight. Finally, the Gandhis stepped in and deemed that Mr Baghel would continue.

Senior Congress MLAs and Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra met with the party leadership in Delhi on Wednesday. They held discussions with party president Mallikarjun Kharge and state in-charge SS Randhawa.

Mr Pilot’s supporters say the Congress is yet to make good on its promise of a better deal for him after his 2020 revolt against Ashok Gehlot.

Ashok Gehlot, who paraded the support of a majority of Congress MLAs at the time, effectively thwarting any threat to his government, has kept up the feud with his younger rival, ensuring an upper hand in the power tussle.

Last year, Congress MLAs supporting Mr Gehlot threatened mass resignation amid reports that Mr Pilot could replace Mr Gehlot, who was in the race for the post of Congress president. The crisis was staved off when the party chose Mallikarjun Kharge instead for the president election.