Sachin Pilot vs Ashok Gehlot: A short history of a long conflict  

Sachin Pilot has taken on Ashok Gehlot in full public view in yet another embarrassment for the Congress party. On Sunday, Pilot, the 45-year-old chief ministerial hopeful, who has long felt that he deserves the top job in Rajasthan, called a press conference to call out the Gehlot government for not taking action against alleged corruption during the Vasundhara Raje regime and even announced a one-day hunger strike on April 11 against his own party’s government. The Congress high command, which seems to weigh political heft squarely on the basis of proximity to the Gandhi family, has come out in support of Gehlot. 

Hours after Pilot’s press conference, Jairam Ramesh, a former Union minister more recently in the news for telling Rahul Gandhi what to say and what not to say before the media, in front of the media, waxed eloquent about the performance of the Rajasthan government. “The Congress government in Rajasthan with Ashok Gehlot as CM has implemented a large number of schemes and taken many initiatives that have impacted the people profoundly,” Ramesh said. 

That Ashok Gehlot was one of the top contenders for the Congress President post, which eventually went to Mallikarjun Kharge, and tensions over keeping his cadre in control in Rajasthan, seems to have been forgotten. Meanwhile Pilot, once seen as part of a next-gen Congress trio along with Rahul Gandhi and Jyotiraditya Scindia, seems to have felt snubbed again and is on the lookout to set his pieces ahead of the Rajasthan Assembly elections scheduled later this year.   

The Gehlot-Pilot conflict is, of course, not new. The Wharton-educated son of an ex-Union minister, Pilot has not shied away from colliding with Ashok Gehlot, the three-time chief minister, even once, ever since the Congress came to power in Rajasthan in 2018. As the chaos within Congress ranks peaks, here is a brief history of the Pilot-Gehlot conflict. 

Sachin Pilot as Rajasthan Deputy CM, and then not 

In the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections, Sachin Pilot was Congress’ key face. One of the youngest members of Parliament in Indian history, Pilot, in many ways, piloted the Congress campaign that won the desert state for the party. For a moment, Pilot was hopeful that the churn within the withering Congress could just mean that he could become chief minister. But Gehlot wouldn’t relent, and Pilot was given the role to be his deputy. 

The Gehlot-Pilot partnership lasted only a while. In July, 2020, the Rajasthan Congress, paranoid of losing power won through a wafer-thin margin, decided to sack Sachin Pilot as the Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Pilot, at the time, said, “Truth can be rattled, but not defeated.” 

Sachin Pilot did not take his ouster lying down. Only months had passed since Jyotiraditya Scindia had quit the Congress for the Bharatiya Janata Party and ensured a veteran Congressman, Kamal Nath, had to give up his government in Madhya Pradesh. Pilot piloted a rebellion against the Gehlot government, one that would eventually be crushed or subdued, depending on who’s looking. 

A seeming truce, but trouble brewing

Months after the rebellion, it seemed as if Sachin Pilot was calming down over his ouster. Still within the Congress fold, unlike many other young leaders, Pilot had set out on his own to campaign with his individual brand of politics. Things came to a head again when Ashok Gehlot became a likely contender for the Congress President post. Initial reports had indicated that Sonia Gandhi wanted Gehlot to take over the reins from her. Gehlot was willing, at least initially. 

But soon Rajasthan went into a political crisis. Sachin Pilot thought this was his opportunity to replace Gehlot in the most stable manner possible. But Gehlot loyalists within the Congress would not let the ex-rebel take his seat. Eventually, Ashok Gehlot had to bow out of the Congress presidential elections. 

Pilot persists

Barring a brief moment of unity, when the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through Rajasthan, Sachin Pilot has been more than clear in positioning himself against Ashok Gehlot. Just around a month ago, when widows of Pulwama martyrs staged a massive protest against the Gehlot government for not fulfilling promises made to them, Pilot came out in support of the protestors and wrote to the Rajasthan CM to give the widows a hearing.

“No one should have so much ego, no matter how big a man he is, he at least should listen to the demands of the wives of Pulwama martyrs. Building a road, installing a statue, changing the name of a college is not a big issue, it is a small task,” Pilot had said at the time.

A week later, Ashok Gehlot, who had once called Sachin Pilot a ‘traitor’, said, “There are no differences (within the Rajasthan Congress). Small differences keep happening in our party, it happens with all parties in every state. But we will contest elections together, win and form a government.” 

On the road to the polls 

The sense of unity seems to have worn off quickly. While it remains to be seen whether Pilot stands his ground on his decision to hold a hunger strike on Tuesday, or if there is an attempt at outreach from the high command, the fissures within the Rajasthan Congress are for all to see ahead of the election season that is poised to be a bellwether to the Lok Sabha polls of 2024. With months to go before Rajasthan switches into election mode, can the Congress stem the chaos brewing within its ranks?