In Rajasthan, a Ashok Gehlot-Sachin Pilot truce as bypolls loom

It has been a fragile truce between Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Pilot so far

It’s nearly nine months since Sachin Pilot raised a flag of rebellion, if only unsuccessfully, against Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, precipitating a month-long political crisis in the state. And while the Congress party in the state may present a picture of unity today, the internal feud hasn’t yet fully faded away.

It has since been a fragile truce between Gehlot and former deputy chief minister Pilot. For most of this time, they have kept their distance from each other. When Pilot returned to the Rajasthan Assembly in August 2020 after the month-long rebellion, he found that he no longer had a front bench seat. Instead, he had been allotted a new seat at the edge of the treasury and opposition benches. In October 2020, a case was registered against his media manager and a journalist for reporting “phone tapping of Congress MLAs” of the Pilot camp during the rebellion. However, the case was withdrawn after two months. Pilot was also kept away during the recent panchayat and municipal polls. Last month, Pilot was not allowed to speak during public events attended by Rahul Gandhi.

That Pilot is not too pleased with all this was apparent when he chose to remain silent on the completion of two years of the Gehlot government and did not congratulate the party or the CM. Moreover, Pilot and MLAs loyal to him mobilised their supporters through the Kisan Mahapanchayat rallies in support of the farmers’ agitation against the Centre’s three farm laws. These rallies, spearheaded by Pilot, former cabinet minister Vishvendra Singh and others, were seen as a show of strength by the Pilot camp, much to the Gehlot faction’s displeasure.

Truce for by-polls

However, in the last few weeks, there is a change in political winds, with Gehlot seeming to soften up towards Pilot. This could be gauged by three recent moves by the party. First, Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi, who had filed a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court challenging the Rajasthan High Court's directive on July 24, 2020 ordering status quo on the demand to disqualify 19 MLAs of the Pilot camp for violating the party whip, told the apex court that following the “subsequent developments”, he is no longer interested in pursuing the case. Second, during the ongoing budget session, Pilot is back on the front benches in the Assembly. Insiders say this happened on the intervention of the party’s Rajasthan state in-charge Ajay Maken. Third, Gehlot and Pilot have stood together for photo-ops while addressing rallies together, sharing a helicopter ride after a gap of almost a year, and have made common cause in criticising the Centre’s farm laws.

The reason for this patch up is the upcoming state by-polls in four constituencies -- Sujangarh (Churu), Sahara (Bhilwara), Vallabhnagar (Udaipur) and Rajsamand – due to the death of their sitting MLAs during the last few months. Three of the four seats were with the Congress, while the Rajsamand seat was held by the BJP’s Kiran Maheshwari. The dates for the by-polls have not been announced yet but both parties have started campaigning. Pilot has considerable influence among voters in three of the constituencies.

The by-polls are a test for the Gehlot government, especially after the crisis in the party, which has also weakened its organisational structure. "The recent patch-up between the two leaders is, of course, because of the by-polls. Congress cannot ignore Pilot's hold over at least three constituencies which have sizeable Gujjar populations. They will involve him in all the rallies and will leave no stone unturned to win these seats,” says political analyst Om Saini. “Moreover, the collective efforts put together in the polls will also help rejuvenate the party workers who are otherwise unhappy, with no appointments taking place at the state or district levels."

In July 2020, amidst the party’s crisis, Pilot had been removed as state party chief and replaced by Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasara.

Pilot’s demands remain

Over seven months ago, as Pilot agreed to end the rebellion, the party had formed a three-member committee, comprising of Ahmed Patel, KC Venugopal and Ajay Maken, to present their report on the issues highlighted by Pilot. The committee is yet to submit its report. Ahmed Patel passed away in November 2020.

Asked about the report and his demand that MLAs loyal to him be elevated to the rank of ministers, Pilot told this reporter, "Seven months have passed, we are hopeful that the committee will look into all the issues that I raised and take appropriate action soon. Unfortunately, Mr Patel passed away, but I am told by Mr Maken that many rounds of discussions have taken place. I am hopeful that timelines will be met and whatever we have deliberated will be put in motion by the Congress president. I had shared my views on what could be done in the government as well as in the party, but whatever decision the Congress president takes after listening to the committee will be final."

Asked about his role in the upcoming by-polls, Pilot said, "Our priority is to make the organisation strong. In panchayat and municipal elections, we gave our best. The next challenge is the by-polls. Three of the seats were held by Congress and we have to give our best. Whoever the party fields, we will be forthcoming to ensure that the candidate wins. People had voted us out badly in the 2013 polls. We were reduced to 21 seats. But we bounced back with 100 seats in 2018. So, people have many expectations and so have party workers, who expect promises to be fulfilled. I think party workers who have really worked hard need to be rewarded. They must feel that they are part of the system."