The Congress on Thursday declared that differences had been sorted in Rajasthan and all the leaders had resolved to fight with a unity of purpose, after a meeting to gauge election preparedness.
It was an obvious reference to the rift between chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his challenger Sachin Pilot. General secretary in charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal said: “The message from today’s meeting is unity. Whatever has happened in the past is a closed chapter. All the leaders are together and we are fully confident of winning the Assembly elections.”
The central leadership appears to have worked out a power-balance formula under which Pilot will get an important role in the state despite Gehlot’s reluctance. While Gehlot expressed confidence at the meeting that the Congress can retain power in Rajasthan on the strength of welfare schemes, Pilot stressed the need for unity of purpose and a sharp attack on the BJP.
The top leaders warned everybody against discussing differences in public. Venugopal said disciplinary action would be taken against anybody who broke the rule.
While Gehlot has made no attempt to conceal his dislike for Pilot over the past four years, Pilot too has gone solo, carrying out separate political programmes in the state.
It is exceptional for the Congress to hold meetings for elections six months in advance; the exercise has been completed for all the poll-bound states — Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Mizoram. At Thursday’s meeting, it was also decided that candidates would be announced early, by the first week of September. The party made it clear that winnability will be the sole criterion for the selection of candidates, allaying fears of the Pilot group that they may face discrimination.
The meeting was attended by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Venugopal, AICC in-charge for Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Gehlot, Pilot, state chief Govind Singh Dotasara and 29 leaders from Rajasthan who included several ministers. Gehlot participated through videoconference as he is recuperating in Jaipur from a foot injury.
