In Gehlot vs Pilot, Cong backs regional leadership

A WEEK AFTER PILOT’S REBELLION AGAINST GEHLOT, THE MESSAGE TO HIM IS UNEQUIVOCAL: HE IS WELCOME TO COME BACK, BUT IT

WILL NOT BE BY UNDERMINING HIS BOSS

would not get a ticket. Many like general secretary in charge Avinash Pandey opposed it, arguing that it was unfair as many contenders had lost in 2013 due to a wave in favour of Narendra Modi. But Pilot’s insistence on that rule led to the alienation of many Congress politicians in the state. Alok Beniwal, Laxman Meena, Mahadeo Khandela, Sayam Lodha and Deep Chand Kharia were all denied party tickets so they contested as independents and won. Zubair Khan got his wife to contest and she won, Richpal Mirdha’s son contested and won; there are several other such names. This decision became one of the major factors behind the Congress’s lukewarm win (99 out of 200 seats). When Ashok Gehlot was installed as chief minister and Pilot only as his deputy, it was after feedback that the older man would be able to command a larger group of people during a crisis. It also helped that Gehlot had won over Rahul Gandhi’s trust during the 44 days they spent together in Gujarat. Incidentally, Rajasthan’s independents now form a chunk of the support base for Ashok Gehlot.

A recap of these circumstances is perhaps necessary to understand the bewildering sequence of events in the week gone by. It explains why we’ve constantly been hearing two voices. That of Ashok Gehlot mocking his “good-looking, Englishspeaking” challenger while Randeep Surjewala (the voice of the high command) encourages him to come back; The Gehlot-led legislature party issuing a showcause notice and removing him as deputy chief minister while Surjewala says “the doors of the party are always open.”

At one point, it would have been unimaginable to hear two voices; the high command’s would drown out all else. Whatever happens to Pilot, this change in the emergence of regional power is here to stay.