Tonk, a small town located 100 kms from Jaipur, was filled with energy and enthusiasm on October 31. The otherwise slow town was decked with flowers, drums, DJs, and hundreds of young supporters chanting their leader's name. He was none other than
Sachin Pilot who was in Tonk to file his nomination paper for the
Rajasthan assembly election.
In the last assembly poll, Pilot had contested on the Tonk seat and won it. This was the time when
Pilot was one of the most prominent faces of Rajasthan
Congress and he was believed to be the next chief minister. But when the party emerged victorious, it was
Ashok Gehlot stole the show.
The last five years have proved to be extremely eventful for Pilot — from staging a coup to protesting against his own government — people have witnessed bitter fight between the two tall leaders in the state. Now when the state is days away from going to polls, the Congress is portraying a united house and the young leader is back on street addressing public rallies, undertaking road shows, meeting his supporters and giving media interviews.
On the day of filing his
nomination paper, hundreds of Pilot's supporters participated in his roadshow in Tonk. The roads were covered with flowers' petals and the air was filled with loud music, sloganeering, and overwhelming support for Pilot, who was wearing his signature white kurta pyjama.
CNBC-TV18 spoke to the former deputy chief minister after he filed his nomination. He answered all the questions candidly on his rift with Gehlot, the party's chief ministerial face, issues, the party's strategy, and much more. On the question of the rift between him and CM Gehlot, and the latter calling him a traitor, Pilot said that he was advised by senior party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandi to 'forgive, forget and move on' and that's what he is doing.
On the issue of infighting in the party affecting the morale of party workers, Pilot said that the Congress cadre is dedicated to the party and not individuals. He claimed that the Congress is well placed in Rajasthan and this time the state will change its trend of the last 30 years and will repeat the incumbent government.
Talking about the paper leak scam and other corruption charges, Pilot said, "The ED action against Congress leaders is politically motivated. Paper leak is unacceptable and no one can be allowed to play with the future of young people. But why did this action initiated when the election dates were announced."
In 2018, Rahul had promised a complete farm loan waiver the party could not walk the talk. The state with 66% of its population involved in agri activities saw relief to only those farmers who took a loan from cooperative societies. Farmers who took loans from centralised banks are still in massive debt. On being informed about the anger in the farming community, Pilot said, "We have done a lot for our farmers and these are only some individuals who are unhappy. And this is also because of the union government. The Centre didn't support us and that's why the full farm loan waiver could not happen."
Though Pilot claimed that everything is fine in the state party unit, the reality on the ground is different. Gehlot still enjoys the support of the old guard at the high command and the senior party leaders at the state level. Pilot claimed that he has moved on, but neither Gehlot nor Congress has forgotten his attempt to stage a coup.
A senior Congress leader told CNBC-TV18, "Pilot cannot undo what he did. Senior leaders at the state level and even at the high command do not trust him the way they used to. Gehlot camp suspects that he is simply putting up a facade and he is going to play a spoilsport for Congress. Gehlot camp suspects that Pilot has cracked a backdoor deal with the BJP and will divide Gujjar votes."
Pilot is the most prominent Gujjar leader in Rajasthan and the community unitedly voted for Pilot in 2018 which played a key role in Congress' victory. But the old guard is said to have lost faith in Pilot now. A senior Congress leader told CNBC-TV 18, "We are fighting these elections keeping in mind that we are not going to get any support from Pilot and we are ready for any surprises."
Rajasthan is going to polls on November 25 and the result will be declared on December 3.
