Acharya’s tweet adds to Gehlot-Pilot rift

The tumult in Rajasthan Congress refuses to die down. The latest hullabaloo has been caused by a tweet from Acharya Pramod Krishnam giving his blessings to former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot to become chief minister.

Pilot is these days holding ‘kisan sammelans’ in eastern Rajasthan, ostensibly as part of Congress' effort to reach out to farmers who are agitating against the central farm laws.

Enthused by the huge turnouts at the meetings, the

Pilot camp is pushing this as an indication of his continued popularity despite attempts by the Gehlot camp to sideline him.

Analysts say while Pilot might be flexing his muscles as a signal to the party leadership, by confining himself to eastern Rajasthan, which is a Gurjar dominated area, Pilot runs the risk of being seen as a Gurjar leader.

Pilot had shared a photo on Twitter of himself addressing a mammoth meeting in Jasaur village in Bharatpur district. Replying to Pilot’s tweet, Krishnam wrote ‘mukhyamantri bhava’.

This is being interpreted in political circles as Acharya Krishnam’s open blessings for Sachin Pilot to become chief minister of Rajasthan.

The tweet has not gone down well with loyalists of chief minister Ashok Gehlot.

On Tuesday, Gehlot had put out a video message for the Congress’s ‘Join Congress Social Media campaign’, in which he said the youth should come forward and take part in the campaign and put the correct picture before the public. “We can put our views before the public through social media which is much needed at a time when the media is under pressure.