Sachin Pilot’s mass-contact campaign without the official involvement of the state committee has reignited trouble for the Congress in Rajasthan, defeating the central leadership’s strategy of trying to defuse the crisis with procrastination and persuasion.

What Pilot might have achieved already through his fresh push is the realisation in the party that reconciliation was almost impossible and that a decision would have to be taken by the high command.

Sources said this would be done soon after the completion of the Bharat Jodo Yatra on January 30. Rajasthan will go to polls in December.

Pilot has planned a series of rallies, which he is calling Kisan Sammelan, without the involvement of chief minister Ashok Gehlot and the Pradesh Congress Committee. While the public meetings at Nagaur, Jhunjhunu, Pali and Hanumangarh drew large crowds, the youth convention on Friday at Jaipur was also a success. These meetings have underlined Pilot’s popularity.

Although he is not naming Gehlot, he has been exhorting the farmers to assess whether the governments —run by both the Congress and BJP — have done enough for them. He also refers to a paper leak in Rajasthan, portraying it as great injustice to the students.

At one meeting he said, “It is not that Congress governments haven’t renewed their mandates; Sheila Dikshit and Tarun Gogoi got three terms, Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Rajshekhar Reddy got two terms. Why is it that governments invariably change after five years in Rajasthan?”

Gehlot is serving his third term as chief minister and the party has twice lost power under his leadership. Pilot has now openly staked his claim to become the chief minister.

Asked about the purpose of his latest campaign, Pilot told The Telegraph: “Rahul Gandhi is about to complete one of the greatest mass-contact programmes in history as the Bharat Jodo Yatra is reaching its destination. We have to ensure that the message of the yatra is taken to the people. I am only doing that, taking Rahul Gandhi’s message to the farmers and youth. Only 10 months are left for election in Rajasthan and we cannot sit idle. We have to strengthen the party organisation to ensure that we retain power in the state.”

But his supporters are sending out a different signal.

At one meeting, Rajendra Singh Gudha, who is also a minister in the Gehlot government, said: “Those who got 21 out of 200 became leaders. And the leader who turned 21 into 100 becomes incompetent, incapable.”

This was a comparison between Gehlot and Pilot. He also compared Pilot with Lord Ram who was exiled when he should have been crowned.

Kharge and the new Rajasthan in-charge, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, will now have to bite the bullet. It will not be easy to remove a reluctant Gehlot; it will be rather more difficult to convince a determined Pilot.