Sachin Pilot
Make me Rajasthan CM immediately or face the same fate as Punjab: Sachin Pilot warns Sonia Gandhi
Jaipur: The power tussle in Rajasthan has emerged once again as Congress leader Sachin Pilot has told Sonia Gandhi that he should be elevated to the post of chief minister without delay or else the state would slip out of the party's hands just like Punjab, media reports said.
Assembly elections will be due in Rajasthan after more than a one-year. But Pilot has reportedly told Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra that Congress could be wiped out in the state in the same way as Punjab, where Charanjit Singh Channi was made the chief minister in a bid to put things in order at the eleventh hour, NDTV reported.
He has met with all three Gandhis three times in the past weeks, it added.
In 2020, Pilot had attempted to topple the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan with 18 MLAs on his side and claimed the support of several others. Gehlot was forced to up his guard and isolate 100 MLAs in a resort on the outskirts of Jaipur.
After Gehlot won the floor test, Pilot was stripped of the several Congress posts he held within the state and was sacked as the deputy chief minister.
His meeting with the Gandhis, last month, fanned fresh speculation that his patience is wearing thin, the report said.
In order to placate Pilot, Congress reportedly offered him a post like an All India Congress Committee General Secretary, a post which is also held by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
However, Pilot has refused the offer stating he did not want to move out of Rajasthan and his core support.
He was also offered the post of chief of Rajasthan Congress but he declined.
He refused to budge from his demand when he was asked to wait till the 2023 assembly polls and lead the party to victory and then become the CM.
To this, he pointed out that he had been Rajasthan Congress chief for five years after which the party won the election in 2018.
The report said, citing a senior Congress leader that a decision on Sachin Pilot's wish-list will be taken "based on the views of the people and MLAs".
The party has decided to put off any decision on Sachin Pilot till "Chintan Shivir" or an introspection meet to be held from May 13-15 in Rajasthan's Udaipur.
The introspection camp is also likely to be dominated by Ashok Gehlot and his supporters.
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