Rajasthan Polls: Congress To Release Candidates' List In September 1st Week, No Pilot-Gehlot Rift Says Party

Congress said it will fight the elections unitedly and that there is no rift among its leaders. The list of its candidates will be released in the first week of September.

The Rajasthan Congress has reiterated that it will fight the elections unitedly. He said there is no rift in the Rajasthan Congress and Sachin Pilot and CM Ashok Gehlot are united. He also said that the list of candidates for the Rajasthan elections will be released in the first week of September.

"As many as 29 leaders from the Rajasthan Congress, including the CM and PCC chief participated in this meeting today. All the leaders unanimously decided that Congress can win the Rajasthan elections provided there is unity among Rajasthan Congress. Today, all the leaders decided to fight the elections unitedly," Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal. He, however, appeared to issue a warning to Pilot, saying that no one must speak outside the party forum. "Strict action will be taken in case of defiance of the diktat," he said. Pilot is known to speak to the media without the party's sanction. Pilot had earlier told the media that he would not back off in his fight against the Congress government's failure to take action on corruption as was promised by Gehlot earlier.

Speaking on the preparations for the Rajasthan Assembly election KC Venugopal said: "The candidates will be selected on the basis of winning ability. The list of candidates will be announced in the first week of September."

The Congress top brass met Rajasthan leaders in New Delhi to discuss a poll strategy. Rajasthan Congress leader Sachin Pilot said that there is no factional feud in Rajasthan Congress and that there is only one group  — the Rahul Gandhi-Mallikarjun Kharge group — in the party. "There was meaningful discussion on how to buck trend of voting out incumbent govt in Rajasthan. We discussed all issues with open minds; all expressed confidence that we can repeat a Congress government in Rajasthan," he said.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge has been leading critical strategy meetings with leaders from various states gearing up for elections. Prior to the Rajasthan meeting, he had already conducted separate meetings with leaders from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Mizoram. The spotlight is firmly on Rajasthan as the Congress party aims to defy the trend of incumbent parties losing power. However, the conflict between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot has added complexity to the party's prospects ahead of the scheduled assembly polls later this year.

During an event commemorating his late father's death anniversary, Sachin Pilot expressed his unwavering commitment to seeking justice on behalf of the people. He has criticized the Gehlot-led government for alleged inaction on corruption charges related to the previous BJP administration. Pilot has also called for the dissolution and reconstitution of the Rajasthan Public Service Commission and demanded decisive action for the victims of leaked job examination papers.

Interestingly, just two days before the strategy meeting, Gehlot announced the government's intention to introduce a bill in the upcoming assembly session aimed at increasing the punishment for those involved in leaked recruitment exam papers, proposing a change from the current 10-year sentence to life imprisonment. In an effort to ease tensions, Congress President Kharge and Rahul Gandhi separately engaged in extensive discussions with both Gehlot and Pilot in May. Later, they posed for photographs together at Kharge's residence.

Following these meetings, Congress General Secretary KK Venugopal stated that Gehlot and Pilot had agreed to "unite for the upcoming assembly elections" and entrusted the resolution of their issues to the party's high command. Gehlot and Pilot have been locked in a power struggle since the Congress formed the government in Rajasthan in 2018. In 2020, Pilot led a rebellion against the Gehlot-led administration, resulting in his removal from significant positions within the state government.

In 2022, an attempt by the party's high command to effect a leadership change in Rajasthan failed as loyalists of Gehlot prevented a legislature party meeting from taking place. Despite warnings from the party, Pilot organized a day-long fast last month to protest against Gehlot's alleged inaction on corruption issues during the previous tenure of Vasundhara Raje's government.