With mere months left for the Rajasthan Assembly elections, there is a sense of déjà vu all over again for the Congress. And to avoid a Punjab-like fiasco in a state where it is still a force to reckon with, the Congress leadership, which had initially backed Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and issued statements in his support and termed Sachin Pilot’s fast “anti-party activity”, has now changed its stance and is trying to find a middle ground.
For that, senior leader and former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath has been roped in to broker a truce between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.
According to sources, Kamal Nath met with Pilot and party general secretary KC Venugopal in Delhi on Thursday to discuss potential solutions to bridge the differences between the two warring leaders.
On Tuesday, Pilot left the grand old party red-faced as he sat on a daylong fast in Jaipur, demanding action against alleged cases of corruption when the BJP ran the state.
“I wrote a letter to CM Ashok Gehlot and said that elections are coming and we must show the public that there is no difference between our promises and our work. But I have not received any answer from the CM yet…” the former Deputy Chief Minister had asserted on Sunday.
Pilot has expressed his grievances to Kamal Nath and Venugopal, and has sought the party’s intervention.
When Pilot arrived in Delhi on Wednesday, he did not have any scheduled meetings with the AICC leaders and was not summoned either. According to sources, Pilot does not view his actions as anti-party, and if called, he is willing to explain the situation to the leadership.
The Congress leadership is also said to be unhappy with the newly appointed in-charge of Rajasthan, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa’s handling of the crisis. He had issued the statement calling Pilot’s fast an “anti-party activity”. Many within the party are upset with the poor and abrupt handling of affairs by Randhawa, who is seen as close to Gehlot.
Kamal Nath, who is known to have close ties with Gehlot, is trying to see if backchannel talks can broker truce, especially as the party is fighting an important election in Karnataka.
Gehlot and Pilot have been warring ever since the Congress formed the government in Rajasthan in December 2018. Since then, a faction of party leaders have repeatedly batted for the young leader to be appointed chief minister.
In July 2020, Pilot and a section of party MLAs revolted openly, asking for a leadership change in the state. It led to a month-long political crisis that ended after assurance from the party leadership that they would look into the issues he had raised.
This is the second time in six months that the Congress leadership has roped in Kamal Nath as mediator.
In September, the Congress high command had asked Kamal Nath to step in to troubleshoot the factional feud over a possible leadership change.
The senior party leader was also sent to Maharashtra after crisis loomed over the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government of Shiv Sena, NCP and Congress following Eknath Shinde’s rebellion.
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