Now or never. Congress scrambles to put house in order in Rajasthan

To avoid a repeat of the Punjab situation, party insiders say next two months are crucial

File photo of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Congress leader Sachin Pilot. | Photo Credit: Rohit Jain Paras

Events in Rajasthan are hurtling towards a culmination with back–to–back meetings between senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot — a contender for Chief Minister’s position — with the Gandhis.

Sources claim that the party is working towards resolving the issues between Mr. Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and the next two months are crucial.

Mr. Pilot met former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on April 8 and party president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

The idea behind the ongoing dialogue is to ensure that the Congress does not see a repeat of Punjab, where the internal strife had cost the party the electoral battle. Mr. Gehlot is not ready to step down and Mr. Pilot, who leads the camp opposing him, does not want to settle for any thing less than the Chief Minister’s post.

“The two have to arrive at a common meeting point, whether willingly or unwillingly. All we are asking is for the two to have a working relationship that can help them achieve the common goal of the Congress victory in 2023 elections,” a senior party leader said.

During his two meetings, Mr. Pilot, according to sources, was not given any concrete assurance but got a patient hearing. The leadership, it is given to understand, told him that they are well aware of the ground situation in the State.

At the same time, as per sources aware of the parleys, Mr. Pilot would not settle for the position of State unit chief or that of campaign committee head which is de facto chief ministerial candidate for the next election.

“There is very little time on hand. If Mr. Pilot has to be promoted to the Chief Minister’s chair, it has to happen now. It is already too late. A change closer to the elections would be disastrous,” a pro-Pilot camp leader said. So far, there have been no comments from Mr. Gehlot on the two meetings.

But the headache for the central leadership is not just settling the equation between Mr. Gehlot and Mr. Pilot. “What many do not understand is that in Rajasthan, there are many leaders other than Mr. Gehlot and Mr. Pilot. We have to ensure that the Jat leadership led by the likes of Harish Chaudhary, the Brahmin leadership led by PC Joshi and Raghu Sharma, needs to be brought on the same page,” a senior Delhi leader said. Talks are on with all sides, he said, and many of these consultations are not in public domain.

The last word is that the leadership cannot delay a decision forever. The first step in this direction was the November reshuffle when Mr. Pilot’s loyalists were accommodated in the Cabinet and many workers were given positions in the State corporations. The Rajya Sabha elections for the State are due in July and the leadership is hoping to bring the house in order by then.