Will Sacked Pilot Fly Solo Or Would Crash Gehlot Using BJP?

In fact, going by the choice of emissaries who were sent to Jaipur on Monday, it had become clear that 10, Janpath was merely going through the motions.

Ego and a sense of hurt said to have prevented any rapprochement between Gandhis and Sachin Pilot. Minutes before Sachin's removal as Rajsthan Pradesh Congress chief and deputy chief minister, a last ditch effort was made asking Pilot to issue a public pronouncement professing loyalty to the party and Gandhis. It did not materialise.

Sachin now has an option to either focus in bringing down Ashok Gehlot regime with the help of BJP or come up with a big tent on the lines of V P Singh of 1986; open a front against Gandhis at the national level. This course may attract many disgruntled and dissatisfied party leaders and become a rallying point of anti-BJP forces.

In fact, going by the choice of emissaries who were sent to Jaipur on Monday, it had become clear that 10, Janpath was merely going through the motions. Instead of Randeep Surjewala and Ajay Makan, had the Congress high command dispatched Digvijaya Singh and Ghulam Nabi Azad, the duo, in all probably, prevailed upon Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot to sound far more accommodating and bargained with Sachin with greater success to avert the crisis.



A lot has been said and written about Priyanka Gandhi’s efforts to diffuse Rajasthan impasse. There is no doubt that Priyanka enjoys excellent rapport with most party leaders and had an ability influence likes of Sachin. But her hands seem tight on account of behind the scene deliberations of December 2018 that had taken place shortly after Congress victory in Rajasthan assembly. In this sense, her ‘I owe You’ goodwill voucher may have already exhausted.

Sachin Pilot, after winning Tonk assembly seat, was spotted at 12, Tuqlaq Cresent, New Delhi to meet Rahul at his residence. Around the same time, Ashok Gehlot, the victor of Sardarpura seat too landed in Delhi but his destination was 23, Mother Teresa Road, residence of Ahmed Patel. In a protracted lobbying and see-saw battle that followed, Pilot initially emerged favourite. But suddenly number games came into play. It was stated that Ashok Gehlot enjoyed support of a majority of newly elected MLAs.

Until that time, in Rahul and Priyanka ’s scheme of things, appointment of a “young face” in one of the three newly acquired states, was very much on the cards. The headcount logic was used to edge out Jyotiraditya Scindia [now in BJP] and for Chhattisgarh, a vague two and half year – two and a half year formula was floated between chief minister Bhupesh Baghel and contender T S Singhdeo. There was a huge outcry among younger lot in the party who felt let down by Rahul who was AICC chief then. Brother sought sister Priyanka Gandhi and mother Sonia Gandhi’s services to prevail upon Pilot to accept deputy chief minister’s post.

As I have often mentioned, Gandhis are essentially reticent persons. Their inner circle consists of those who are prepared to observe ‘Omerta’ and make necessary sacrifices. The list of those falling wayside ranging from Amitabh Bachchan, Maneka-Varun Gandhi, Natwar Singh, Hansraj Bhardwaj, M F Fotedar etc. the list is so exhaustive that it would require a separate chapter. Almost in all cases, Sonia slammed the door without assigning too many opportunities. Sonia, Priyanka and Rahul are unanimous in their view that once a party leader makes up mind to desert parent organisation, there is very little that can be done. Moreover, the very idea of someone dear and close crossing over to Narendra Modi -Amit Shah’s brand of Hindutva in the context of hate and mob lynching, forecloses all options of conciliation.



A word about Gehlot. Hailing from a magician’s family, Ashok Gehlot was initially called a “gilli billi” in Sanjay Gandhi era Congress. As I had mentioned in a 2018 piece for Observer Research Foundation, Gehlot used to perform magic tricks before a young Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi in the presence of Indira Gandhi. A teetotaler, believes in eating only satvik meal and avoids eating anything after sunset till dawn.

But that only one side of Gehlot. As politician, Gehlot has been a crafty customer. During Rajiv Gandhi era, Gehlot was struggling against mighty Haridev Joshi and Shiv Charan Mathur in Rajasthan politics. [A bit like present day tussle between him and Sachin Pilot].

While nobody is fully aware of what happened when Rajiv held a cabinet meeting at Sariska National Park, 170 km from the national capital but soon Congress chief minister Haridev Joshi was out. There had been drought condition in Rajasthan then so Rajiv issued a clear instruction, prior to his visit, that no state minister should use official cars to meet Rajiv. Rajiv was himself driving an SUV which was reportedly signalled by a local traffic constable to turn right, instead of going straight.

The seemingly innocent error (some claim to be magician Gehlot’s handiwork) proved costly for Joshi as the diversion led to a spot where hundreds of official cars belonging to state ministers, officials etc.) were parked. Rajiv’s public rebuke did not did not go down well with Joshi, who sulked and boycotted a lunch. Within a month, Joshi was replaced by Mathur and Gehlot moved up in the Congress hierarchy. By 1998, he became Rajasthan chief minister. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/congress-magician-rajasthan-ashok-gehlot-45298

This time too, Gehlot has played his cards well though some may think at the expense of Congress. Gehlot has reportedly sent a "dossier" to the Congress high command enlisting 'evidence' and 'instances' of Pilot's overtures towards the BJP in the last six months. https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/congress-magician-rajasthan-ashok-gehlot-45298/

[Author-Journalist Rasheed Kidwai is a visiting Fellow of the Observer Research Foundation. He tracks government and politics and considered a specialist on Congress party affairs.]

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