New party or next move – Sachin Pilot to indicate on June 11

A compromise enforced by the Congress leadership a week ago in their Rajasthan unit appeared to be crumbling as dissident leader Sachin Pilot is contemplating walking out and may indicate his next move on June 11, the death anniversary of his late father Rajesh Pilot.

It is to be seen whether he would announce a new party next Sunday even as sources said Pilot is being helped with the groundwork for the formation of a new party – Pragatisheel Congress– by Prashant Kishor’s IPAC, a political consultancy firm.

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.

Read | Rajasthan: Ashok Gehlot, Sachin Pilot may have patched up, but road ahead remains tough

Senior Congress leaders, who are in regular touch with Pilot especially after the May 29 discussions, claimed that Pilot has been insisting to them that rumours are being spread by his opponents and he would not take any such step as he had discussions that involved top leader Rahul Gandhi.

Sources claimed that Pilot has told the leaders that he has not called any meeting or rally on June 11. At the same time, leaders feel that no leader who is planning to leave would give any such indication and Pilot is no exception.

Sources linked to Pilot claimed he is focused on his demands, for which he has not received any “concrete assurances”, and the ball is in party leadership’s court.

Rajasthan Minister Murari Lal Meena, who is close to Pilot and overseeing preparations for the programme marking senior Pilot's death anniversary in Dausa, was quoted by PTI as saying, "I have no idea from where the speculation of the new party started. I do not see any substance in such speculations. I work following the ideology of the party."

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.

It is to be seen how many MLAs would walk out from Congress if Pilot takes the plunge and whether it would have an impact on Congress government in the state. There is also talk about Pilot aligning with Hanuman Beniwal’s Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) and AAP in a third front in Rajasthan.

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 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.