The Congress may have bought peace before the December elections by appointing Bhupesh Baghel’s competitor, TS Singh Deo, as his deputy in Chhattisgarh, but the decision has once again brought attention to its unsolved rivalry in Rajasthan.
The long-reported rumour that Sachin Pilot will be given a more pivotal position within the party in an effort to defuse tensions before the Rajasthan poll and relieve pressure on Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has not yet materialised.
In a tweet, Sachin Pilot congratulated TS Singh Deo, whose uprising in 2021 nearly toppled the Congress administration before the Gandhis stepped in.
TS Singh Deo has been appointed as the deputy chief minister of Chhattisgarh, and Mr Pilot tweeted his greetings and best wishes for him.
Later this year, elections will be held simultaneously in the three states that the Congress has ruled: Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
Similar to the rivalry that arose between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Rajasthan shortly after the party took office there in 2018, Chhattisgarh’s conflict also started up in 2018. Mr. Deo stated his claim to the position of Chief Minister in August 2021, saying that the Congress had promised him a rotating system. Mr. Baghel made it plain he would not resign without a struggle with the backing of 55 of the 70 Congress MLAs. The Gandhis intervened at this point and decided that Mr. Baghel would continue.
Following the Congress’s hasty move to promote Mr. Deo to number two yesterday, concerns regarding Mr. Pilot’s possible involvement with the party’s government under Ashok Gehlot were raised on Thursday. Mr. Pilot’s lone campaign and relentless criticism of the Congress have caused great embarrassment.
Senior Congress MLAs and Rajasthan’s Congress chief Govind Singh Dotasra met with the party’s top officials in Delhi on Wednesday. They spoke with the party’s leader, Kharge, and the in-charge, SS Randhawa.
According to Mr. Pilot’s followers, the Congress has yet to fulfil its commitment to give him a better deal following his 2020 uprising against Ashok Gehlot.
In order to maintain his advantage in the power struggle, Ashok Gehlot, who at the time boasted the backing of the majority of Congress MLAs, has continued his fight with his younger competitor.
When news broke that Mr. Pilot might succeed Mr. Gehlot, who was running for Congress president the previous year, supporters of Mr. Gehlot in Congress threatened a mass resignation. When the party decided to run Mallikarjun Kharge for president instead, the situation was averted.
