Sachin Pilot likely to announce new party on June 11
A compromise enforced by the Congress leadership a week ago in their Rajasthan unit appeared to be fragile as dissident leader Sachin Pilot is likely to walk out and announce a new party ‘Pragatisheel Congress’ on June 11, the death anniversary of his late father Rajesh Pilot.
Sources said Pilot is being helped with the groundwork for the formation of the new party by Prashant Kishor’s IPAC, a political consultancy firm. There is also talk about Pilot aligning with Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and AAP in a third front in Rajasthan.
It is to be seen how many MLAs will walk out from Congress if Pilot takes the plunge and whether it would have an impact on Congress government in the state.
The 45-year-old former Deputy Chief Minister has been at loggerheads with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot for years. The central leadership has so far not agreed to replace the veteran leader with him, who as state chief had led the party to power in the 2018 elections.
Speculation about Pilot’s plans had been spreading over the past couple of months after he conducted a one-day fast on April 11 and a five-day padayatra starting May 11. Questions had raised what he would do on June 11, senior Pilot’s death anniversary.
The Congress leadership had been trying to bring peace in the Rajasthan unit ahead of Assembly elections later this year and on May 29 after four-hour-long discussions by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and top leader Rahul with the warning leaders, the leadership had announced that both have agreed to work unitedly to defeat the BJP.
However, the leadership, while assuring Pilot that he would be gracefully accommodated, did not spell out the exact details. Gehlot has been insisting that Pilot should not be accommodated and wants him to leave the party.
Day after the meeting with leadership, Pilot indicated that he was not willing to compromise by making it clear that he would not go back on his demands for a probe against BJP leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, reconstitution of Rajasthan Public Service Commission and compensation for youth who suffered due to question paper leaks.
If Pilot finally decides to move, it would also mean that he has not taken Rahul’s assurance to address his concerns at a later stage seriously.
The leadership had intended to make Pilot the Chief Minister in September last year by elevating Gehlot as party president. However, smart manoeuvring by Gehlot who wanted to remain as Chief Minister led to high drama where a meeting of Congress Legislature Party could not meet to set in motion the process.
If Pilot finally decides to leave, he will be joining a list of prominent leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Kapil Sibal, Jitendra Prasada, RPN Singh, Sunil Jakhar, Ashwani Kumar, Hardik Patel and Alpesh Thakore.
