Infighting in Congress erupted on Monday after Khiladi party MP Lal Bairwa openly backed Sachin Pilot for the post of Rajasthan’s chief minister. Amid speculation that Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot could be elected as the next Congress President, Bairwa, who is also the Chairman of the Rajasthan SC Commission, felt that all the youth wanted Pilot to be the Chief Minister. In a veiled warning to Congress, he warned that the party would suffer if it ignored the aspirations of the people. Additionally, he urged Gehlot to consider passing the torch to the next generation himself.
Congress MP Khiladi Lal Bairwa remarked, “The party brought him back after making many promises. And all the problems ended. Looking at the current situation, what is the problem if Sachin Pilot is appointed CM? Young people today are 100% with him.As Chairman of the SC Commission of Rajasthan, I am expressing the sentiment of Dalits, poor and scheduled castes and carrying it forward.It will be good if we work according to their desire. But if we behave arbitrarily, it will be our loss.”
“Ashok Gehlot is our experienced leader. He has been in politics for 40 years. He has been CM and other high level positions for 30 years. But if there is any change in the current situation, he is himself such a great leader and should think about preparing the next generation for elections,” he added.
Battle of rulers in Rajasthan
When meeting with Congresswoman Sonia Gandhi on April 21, Sachin Pilot issued an ultimatum to change the state’s leadership, saying the party would lose all polls under Ashok Gehlot. He had fallen out of favor after briefly leading a rebellion in July 2020, after which he was sacked as Rajasthan’s Deputy Chief Minister and Congress Leader. Two days later, the CM of Rajasthan caused a stir by publicly revealing that his resignation letter is definitely in the possession of the Congress leader.
Targeting Gehlot as he addressed the media on June 1, Sachin Pilot called for soul-searching into why the Congress party was unable to hold onto power in 2003 and 2013. To these two occasions, Gehlot was the incumbent CM and the party led by Sonia Gandhi was soundly beaten by the BJP under the leadership of Vasundhara Raje. Moreover, he pointed out that Congress can only return to power in the 2023 Rajasthan Assembly elections if the party takes the “right steps”.