Jaipur:

The rift between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot camps in Rajasthan, which started soon after the 2018 Assembly polls, seems far from over even after the completion of Lok Sabha elections in the desert state.

Now, there seems to be discontent among a section of party workers over Mr Gehlot’s appointment as Congress poll observer for the high-profile Amethi Lok Sabha constituency in Uttar Pradesh. At the same time, Mr Pilot has been given the charge of the North East Delhi seat being contested by ‘controversial’ former JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar.

While the Gehlot camp credits the former Chief Minister’s credibility in the Gandhi family as the reason for being appointed as the observer for Amethi, the Pilot camp says his image as a youth icon has landed him the role to mobilise the youth in Kanhaiya Kumar’s support.

Mr Gehlot loyalists also say that the party trusts his vast political experience. Therefore he has been given the charge of Amethi. In contrast, Mr Pilot loyalists say that he can win the trust of local party leaders who are upset over Kanhaiya Kumar’s candidature from North East Delhi and is being called an “outsider”.

Congress has fielded Gandhi family loyalist, Kishori Lal Sharma, against BJP’s Smriti Irani from the Amethi Lok Sabha constituency.

Congress leader Varun Purohit says that this indicates a rift is still going on between Mr Pilot and Mr Gehlot.

“Mr Gehlot seems to have been given an upper hand as he has been appointed the poll observer for Amethi, which was a crucial Lok Sabha seat held traditionally by the Gandhi family. This seat becomes crucial as Priyanka Gandhi herself has been managing the election campaign in both Raebareli and Amethi, which will give more time to Gehlot to win the trust of the Gandhi family again.”

“Moreover, Sachin Pilot is being considered as a youth icon and is yet to join the cadre of senior Congress leaders. Therefore, he has been appointed as a poll observer from a Lok Sabha constituency in Delhi where ‘controversial’ candidate Kanhaiya Kumar is contesting on a Congress ticket.”

“Mr Pilot has been given the task to placate those Congress party workers who are upset with the candidature of Kanhaiya Kumar since they consider him an ‘outsider’. Now, one can easily say that Mr Gehlot is still in a better political position than Mr Pilot. Mr Gehlot has again proved that he has vast political experience to win the trust of the Gandhi family,” Mr Purohit says.

Meanwhile, another Congress worker on condition of anonymity told IANS: “The party is trying to depend on veteran party leaders considering their vast experience in politics. Mr Gehlot is a senior party leader and still has the political acumen to win Lok Sabha seats. He also knows how to manage party expenses on a prestigious Lok Sabha seat and hence has been sent to Amethi.”

Sushil Asopa, former Secretary, Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, says it is surprising that such a party leader has been sent to Amethi, who himself has been unable to bring Congress back to power in Rajasthan despite being the Chief Minister thrice.

“It’s surprising to see a former Chief Minister (Gehlot) addressing a press conference in Amethi, who could not win the elections from Jodhpur, his home district, in 1999 when Mr Gehlot was the Rajasthan Chief Minister.”

Meanwhile, Mr Purohit says that the political tussle between Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot will impact Congress’ chances after the results of the Lok Sabha polls are declared on June 4.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Jodhpur:

Campaigning in his assembly constituency, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday recalled the attempt to topple his government in 2020 and said those who tried it, “did not know who they were dealing with”.

“I have been the chief minister of the state three times. I completed all these three terms which is a big thing.

“It is not just that I completed all these three terms… they tried to topple my government this time but they failed. They thought that they would succeed here as well, but they had no idea who they were dealing with” Gehlot said.

The Congress leader was speaking while campaigning in his constituency Sardarpura for the second day. He held road shows and corner meetings in various localities of the constituency.

Mr Gehlot’s then deputy Sachin Pilot and 18 other Congress MLAs had revolted against him in July 2020. The month-long crisis ended after the intervention of the party high command. Mr Pilot was then removed as the deputy chief minister and state Congress president.

While Gehlot-Pilot ties have been strained since, with both openly taking pot-shots at each other, the party has been putting up a united face in the state in the run-up to the November 25 Assembly polls.

Mr Gehlot expressed gratitude to the people and sought their blessings for the upcoming election.

On Tuesday, his campaigning was focused on Mandore – a Mali-dominant area.

Mr Gehlot, who belongs to the Mali community, also attended a felicitation programme organised by the community in which 836 meritorious students were honoured.

While addressing various gatherings, Mr Gehlot said that it was his duty to come to his constituency immediately after getting the ticket and express his gratitude to them.

“You have always blessed me. So it was my duty to come to you first. Now, with your permission I would leave to take care of the remaining 199 seats,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)