Crisis raises as Sachin Pilot, the current Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan, claimed that the Ashok Gehlot-led government is in minority as he has 30 MLAs from the party on his side. Political analysts are comparing Pilot’s declaration with the past events of side-changing by Jyotiraditya Scindia in Madhya Pardesh, which toppled the then Kamal Nath-led Congress government and allowed Shivraj Singh-led BJP government to come to power.
Recently, a tussle between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot became the talk of the town. Sources says that an alleged call recording between both politicians has been released, in which Pilot can be heard saying that “I will be the CM!”
As Pilot today moved to Delhi, Rajasthan police has sent a notice to Pilot and several other party members including the chief whip of Congress party in Rajasthan, which has made some of the supporters of these politicians upset. On the other hand, CM Gehlot has invited an all-party meeting tonight in a bid to show power and strength. A meeting at CM residence in Jaipur has been scheduled for Monday. However, Sachin Pilot has decided not to attend the meeting.
“It is likely that after the CLP meeting, a whip will be issued by the party and absentees will have to face the consequences but nothing has been finalized yet. Final decision will be taken after this meeting of Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala, Avinash Pande & Gehlot: Sources” – ANI Twitter
Pilot was seen today with Jyotiraditya Scindia in Delhi. Scindia tweeted, “Sad to see my erstwhile colleague, @SachinPilot too, being sidelined and persecuted by Rajasthan CM, @ashokgehlot51 . Shows that talent and capability find little credence in the @INCIndia.”
Rajasthan Deputy CM & Congress leader Sachin Pilot to not attend Congress Legislative Party meeting scheduled to be held tomorrow. Sources close to Pilot say Ashok Gehlot Govt in minority after over 30 Congress and some independent MLAs have pledged support to Sachin Pilot.
— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2020
While visiting the CM Gehlot’s residence a congress MLA Rajendra Gudda claimed that they are in touch with some BJP MLAs and “will bring more BJP MLAs…” However, big names from the party like Kapil Sibal have already shown concern towards the current situation.
Sibal tweeted, “Worried for our party. Will we wake up only after the horses have bolted from our stables ?”
These events are indicating that a big change in the Government could be seen in the upcoming days.
However, if Sachin Pilot decides to go to BJP, it will not be easy for the party to manage. Pilot has ambitions for being the Chief Minister, but the already Vice President of BJP, Rajasthan and former CM from BJP, Vasundhara Raje is said to be stubborn for her place. In the past elections, a highly popularized slogan from the voters was “Modi Tujhse Bair Nahi, Vasundhara Teri Khair Nahi!” But the party was unable to demote her. She allegedly has the major support from the party and independent MLAs also. In this situation, if Pilot is given a Minister’s place or again placed as Deputy CM, then creating such a big scene will have no use. It has created an interesting situation in the state.
Besides all this political melodrama, the question remains, what about our democratic structure? Recent events from Karnataka, MP and now from Rajasthan force us to question our electoral machinery and its nechanism. We need to think if the overhaul of our electoral and democratic structure is necessary?
What do you think?