Rajasthan State Assembly elections are soon to be held later this year. An inside war has started in the Congress over the chief ministerial candidate.
The war is between the veteran and ex-CM of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot and Rajasthan Congress President Sachin Pilot. These two are the strongest CM candidates and their stalwarts have not been shy of openly supporting their respective leaders.
All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary Ashok Gehlot is a member of the Maali community which is in favour of his name for the CM candidate.
Lalchand Kataria, a Gehlot loyalist recently gave a statement which further led to the division in the grand old party. He said, “Gehlot should be declared as the chief ministerial candidate and elections in the state must be fought with Gehlot as the CM face. The people of Rajasthan also want Gehlot to be the Chief Minister. The party high command is also aware of the situation and is continuously taking a feedback.”
Gehlot’s contemporary Sachin Pilot is also a strong and accepted CM face in the party. Due to his proximity to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, his chances of being the chief ministerial candidates are also high.
Under Pilot’s leadership, Rajasthan Congress had a major win in the by-elections held earlier this year.
Pilot is from the Gurjar community and has quite the influence among the youth of the state. His hard work led to the Congress’ win in the bypolls.
He also held a rally in Jaipur recently whose huge turnout might be an indication of Pilot’s popularity in the state.
Whereas Gehlot has been given priority and promoted on a national level. He played a key role in both Gujarat and Karnataka polls earlier. Still, the former CM has made statements which prove his lingering interest in playing a major role in Rajasthan politics and his inclination towards the CM post.
According to Rightlog.in, Gehlot told media in Udaipur, “When the face has been in front of you for ten years where is the need of talking about a new face?”
Congress has yet to make an official announcement on the name. The competition is tight as Gehlot and Pilot’s supporters have started publically pitching their respective leader’s name for the CM face.