Jitin Prasada's exit opens Pandora’s box for Congress, leadership scrambles to address Sachin Pilot's concerns

The party leadership has rushed to comfort Sachin Pilot, but the former Dy CM has shown signs of dissatisfaction

The Congress leadership has been quick to try and check any after-effects of Jitin Prasada’s switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), addressing party leader Sachin Pilot’s persistent demands that have put the Rajasthan government in hot water.

The Congress sent out a message to Pilot hours after Prasada’s exit, with regard to the former deputy chief minister’s demands last year that are yet to be met.

“There has to be a turnaround time. Sachin Pilot has to be patient," Congress spokesperson Supriya Srinate told the media, adding that the Congress had rewarded him by appointing him the country's youngest deputy chief minister.

Sachin Pilot’s long wait

On his part, Pilot has expressed his dissatisfaction with the party’s slow pace of action, telling the Hindustan Times that the Congress high command had failed to make good on their promises to him and 18 other legislators after they returned to the party following a major clash with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

“It has now been 10 months. I was given to understand that there would be swift action by the committee, but now half of the term is done, and those issues haven’t been resolved. It is unfortunate that so many party workers who worked and gave their all for getting us the mandate are not being heard,” Pilot told the daily earlier this week, weeks after MLA Hemaram Choudhary, a key supporter of Pilot, resigned suddenly.

How did it get to this?

Last July, Pilot and 18 other legislators staged a rebellion by leaving Jaipur and camping at a secret location in Haryana. Gehlot removed Pilot as state party president and deputy CM, calling it a ploy by the BJP to overthrow his government.

The Gandhi family intervened and Pilot returned to Jaipur after a committee was set up under general secretary Ajay Maken to redress the issues that Pilot and his camp had raised, ending a month-long standoff.

Media reports on Pilot’s demands have varied, including a request to be declared the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the state before the 2022 state elections and that his supporters be awarded Cabinet berths or be made heads of corporations and other bodies.

Sticky situation for Congress

While the Congress leaders have repeatedly tried to assuage the Pilot camp, filling nine vacant Cabinet seats with Pilot loyalists would likely be a difficult task with Gehlot lobbying for Independents and former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) legislators who saved his government during the floor test last August.

The 10-month delay in meeting Pilot’s demands has been due to the death of senior leader Ahmed Patel, who was the crisis manager hammering out the details of Pilot’s return, a Congress leader told HT.

The leader also said side-lining Gehlot was not an option for the party as he was a three-time chief minister and had got 10 per cent more votes in the bypolls than he had in 2018.