Form of words:
New Delhi: Nearly sixteen months after a public spat between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his then deputy Sachin Pilot, the Congress-led Rajasthan government’s cabinet reshuffle took place on Sunday.
Fifteen new names were inducted into the Rajasthan cabinet on November 21, out of which five are Pilot loyalists. But whether the crisis in the Rajasthan government and the state unit of the Congress has been averted is an open question.
The pilot himself was clear on the matter. “I wonder why there is so much talk about factionalism within the Congress. We are together We fought elections together and formed the government together. We have only one faction in Congress.
Pilot further lauded the fact that the new cabinet with four ministers from the Dalit community, three ministers from the ST community and three women ministers was “inclusive” and said it had “Priyanka Gandhi’s seal”.
Read also: Inclusion of 4 Dalits in Rajasthan cabinet a ‘big message’: Sachin Pilot
Five loyalists of Pilot in cabinet
Of the new names inducted into the cabinet, five were part of a group of 18 loyal MLAs who stood by Sachin Pilot in July 2020, when the then deputy chief minister revolted against Gehlot, leading the state to a month-long political crisis. I had drowned.
They are Hemaram Choudhary, Vishvendra Singh, Ramesh Meena, Brijendra Singh Ola and Murari Lal Meena. Of these, Murari Lal and Ola have been made ministers of state, while the other three have been made cabinet ministers.
Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also ministers in the previous cabinet, but were dropped along with Pilot during the political crisis.
Similarly, Hemaram Chowdhury, who was also a minister, tendered his resignation from the assembly at that time, but it was not accepted.
last year’s crisis
In July 2020, Sachin Pilot, the then deputy CM and state unit chief of Congress, flew to Haryana along with 18 other Congress MLAs from Rajasthan. Pilot claimed the chief minister’s post, refusing him after the state elections in 2018 saying he has the support of at least 30 MLAs in the 200-member assembly. At that time the Congress had 108 seats in the assembly.
Meanwhile, CM Gehlot called upon party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi to handle the situation, saying the BJP was trying to destabilize his government.
At that time there was also speculation about Pilot joining the BJP along with his MLAs. However, the BJP, which had 71 MLAs in the Assembly, would still need to mobilize a greater number on the floor of the House to form the government, even if the Congress’s 19 MLAs (including the pilot) switch sides.
Talk of Pilot’s move to the BJP was fueled by a similar crisis in Madhya Pradesh earlier that year, in which Congress veteran Jyotiraditya Scindia, along with loyal MLAs, had jumped into the BJP, with CM Kamal Nath declining. after. Scindia, in fact, also met Pilot at the latter’s Delhi residence during this time.
During the crisis, however, Pilot had insisted that he was not in talks with the BJP. Similarly, the BJP has also publicly distanced itself from the crisis several times.
Subsequently, after several rounds of meetings between the national leadership of the Congress, Gehlot and Pilot, the latter was removed from both their posts. A new president for the Rajasthan State Congress—Govind Singh Dotasara, who was then the health minister—was appointed. This is when Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena were also sacked by the party, along with Rajasthan Youth Congress and Rajasthan Congress Seva Dal state presidents Mukesh Bhaker and Rakesh Pareek, who were also close to Pilot.
Read also: Under cabinet reshuffle, 15 ministers of Rajasthan will take oath at 4 pm
temporary resolution
However, the Congress leadership found a temporary solution to the problem in August of that year, days before a session of the Assembly began. Gehlot and Pilot reunited in public after meeting Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi later. However, internally, a Cold War continued, with Pilot not being reinstated to his earlier positions in both the government and the party.
In the subsequent assembly session, the Gehlot government won the no-confidence motion.
What next for Sachin Pilot?
While some of his loyalists have been inducted into the cabinet, Sachin Pilot still does not hold any formal position in the party or government. The fact that Dotasara, who was seen as a temporary chairman when appointed, has now been removed from the cabinet on the basis of the “one person, one post” principle, means that Pilot should be elected as the state chair. There is no chance of getting back.
Party sources say that while Pilot tried to negotiate for six ministers in the cabinet, he himself did not want to work with or under Gehlot.
Party sources also confirm that Pilot was offered the role of AICC general secretary in-charge for a state, but he reportedly declined it.
Will Pilot now try to play a national role for the Congress while keeping his finger in the Rajasthan pie? This remains an important question for the Congress ahead of the 2023 elections in the state.
(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)
Read also: Sushmita reaches out to Deora, the Congress pilot to revolt further after Dev shocker
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