The crisis in the Rajasthan Congress has deepened, with Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot opting out of tomorrow's meeting of party MLAs called by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot at his residence in Jaipur.
According to a statement, Pilot is not attending the meeting of Congress legislators and independent MLAs who support the ruling government, which is scheduled for 10:30 am on Monday. In it, Pilot claims that the Gehlot government is in a minority and that he has the support of 30 MLAs.
Sources say Pilot did not meet with either Congress President Sonia Gandhi or former party chief Rahul Gandhi in Delhi, even as efforts were on to get in touch with him and to defuse the crisis in Jaipur. However, he reportedly met with Jyotiraditya Scindia—sparking speculation that Pilot was in touch with the BJP. Scindia, like Pilot, was a young leader who felt sidelined in the Congress and who jumped ship in March, causing the collapse of the Kamal Nath government in Madhya Pradesh.
A senior AICC functionary said Pilot was infuriated over being sidelined in decision-making in Rajasthan after the Congress won the Assembly elections in December 2018, when he was passed over for the post of chief minister as the party leadership put its trust in the more-experienced Gehlot.
The message from the party high command, however, is for Pilot to return to Jaipur and defuse the crisis, before his grievances can be taken up.
Gehlot has already held a meeting with Congress MLAs in Jaipur this evening. Congress MLA Rajendra Gudda said, after the meeting, that Gehlot has the majority. He even claimed that some BJP MLAs might switch over to the Congress.
The Congress high command has despatched leaders Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala to Jaipur as central observers to be present at tomorrow's CLP meeting, which will be held at Gehlot's official residence at 10:30 am. Avinash Pande, AICC General Secretary in charge of party affairs in Rajasthan will also be in Jaipur.
After Gehlot's press conference in Jaipur yesterday, where he alleged that the BJP was trying to lure ruling party MLAs and destabilise his government, Pilot is learnt to have left for Delhi along with the MLAs who support him.
According to sources, Pilot was upset by the notice sent to him by the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the Rajasthan Police, which sought to record his statement in connection with allegations that the BJP had indulged in horse-trading ahead of the recent Rajya Sabha elections, attempting to influence MLAs supporting the Gehlot government in a bid to topple it. The SOG had lodged an FIR based on intercepted conversations between two persons said to be affiliated to the saffron party.
Gehlot, however, tweeted to clear the air about the SOG summons, saying notices had also been sent to him and to other ministers, in order to record their statement.
Pilot was not available for comments, but sources say that the SOG notice came as the last straw in a long series of attempts by Gehlot to allegedly sideline him in the state of affairs in Rajasthan.
It is well known that Pilot was upset over being passed over for the chief minister's post after the party won the Assembly elections in Rajasthan under his leadership in 2018. The Congress leadership preferred to hand over the reins to the experienced Gehlot, while Pilot had to settle for the post of deputy chief minister.
However, the friction between the two leaders has been palpable, and the Pilot camp intensified its attacks on Gehlot following the party's whitewash in the Lok Sabha elections. Even with regard to the anti-COVID-19 measures taken by the Rajasthan government, Gehlot and Pilot appeared to be carrying out parallel efforts.
According to those in the Pilot camp, the deputy chief minister is aggrieved over being sidelined in the decision-making and with Gehlot not being amenable to share the limelight with his deputy.
Pilot's moves are being closely watched, especially in the backdrop of Gehlot's allegation that the BJP is trying to repeat in Rajasthan what it achieved in Madhya Pradesh, referring to the toppling of the Kamal Nath government by taking the help of aggrieved leader Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections on June 19, Gehlot had accused the BJP of making efforts to lure the MLAs of the ruling party and had sequestered all of them at a hotel till the elections were held. Pilot offered public assurance while sharing the stage with Gehlot that the two Congress nominees for the upper house polls would win with more than expected numbers.
Gehlot met cabinet colleagues and legislators through the day, who called on him to express solidarity with him.
While there is intense speculation on whether Pilot is in talks with the BJP, according to sources close to Pilot, he has maintained that he will never go the Scindia way and will continue his struggle by remaining in the party.
The Congress has 107 MLAs in the Assembly, and it enjoys the support of 13 Independents and MLAs belonging to smaller parties, taking the total number to 121. The halfway mark in the Rajasthan Assembly is 100; the number could drop depending on whether MLAs resign their seats in favour of defecting to another party.
The BJP, in turn, has 72 MLAs, with the support of three independents.
