As Rajasthan heads into Assembly polls in a few months, Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Friday (September 15) said that the party will have to contest unitedly in the state to win the majority and the high command of the party will take a decision on who will lead the government after elections.
He said that the party did not have a chief minister face in the last Assembly polls also and Rahul Gandhi, who was then the Congress national president, had decided the chief minister after the elections.
"(Mallikarjun) Kharge ji, Rahul (Gandhi) ji and Sonia ji are our leaders and in Rajasthan, we have a Congress government. So we have to work effectively, and unitedly to win the majority. Once we secure the mandate, the legislators and the leadership will decide. Even last time in 2018, when I was the state party chief, we did not have a CM face, it was post-elections that the legislators and the leadership, at that time it was Rahul ji as president, decided who would lead the government," he said.
"Once we get a majority, MLAs will be consulted, leadership will take a considered view and decide on who will lead the government. It is nothing new and that is how it has always been done," Pilot said.
Asked about Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot calling him names such as 'nikamma', 'nakara' and 'gaddar', in the past and whether he had put that behind him, Pilot said, "I have always shown utmost respect and restraint in all my public utterances. My values and upbringing do not permit me to use a language that would lower the dignity of our discourse. It is important to set an example for young people to follow," he said.
Pilot on CWC meeting
Ahead of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting in Hyderabad on Saturday, Pilot, who is a first-time member of the group, said that it is “very balanced” and has a “good mix” of youth and experience.
Pilot asserted that the first meeting of the reconstituted CWC which will take place tomorrow was crucial in view of the upcoming state Assembly elections.
Pilot, along with other new faces like Shashi Tharoor was inducted into the new Congress Working Committee (CWC) last month, the highest decision-making body of the party.
Reacting to the development, the Congress leader said that he has always fulfilled with utmost sincerity any role that has been assigned to him by the party.
He called the reconstituted CWC in line with the criteria under the Udaipur declaration.
"As a national party, we have to take into consideration leaders from all parts of our country -- whether it is the northeast, Jammu and Kashmir or other regions. It's a very balanced working committee that has been formed by (party chief) Mallikarjun Kharge. Of course, it represents all regional aspirations and it has a good mix of experience and young people who are going to contribute meaningfully," Pilot said.
He said that the focus of the panel has been on Dalits, ST, OBCs, minorities, and fresh faces.
"There are also some very senior people that have been included, it is very balanced. It will be helpful for the party," he said.
Role in new CWC
When asked about his new role in the CWC and if he will still focus on Rajasthan despite responsibility at the national level, Pilot said that his “heart lies in Rajasthan” and that’s where he “can add most value”.
"But my heart lies in Rajasthan and that is where I can add most value. Certainly, I will do whatever the party asks me to do but my priority will be to ensure that we break this 30-year cycle of BJP-Congress and repeat the Congress government in Rajasthan," he asserted.
Asked about the deliberations that would take place when the CWC meets on Saturday and at the extended CWC meeting on Sunday, Pilot said it is the highest decision-making body of the Congress where all issues of national importance need to be taken up to make the government of the day accountable.
He said that strategy for the upcoming Assembly as well as Lok Sabha polls will be framed.
“This session of the CWC in Hyderabad will be crucial as it will chart out the course of the Congress in the next few months with quite a few elections coming up in November-December,” he said.
"I look forward to these meetings in Hyderabad. The working committee will work with renewed vigour and energy…and this augurs very well for the Congress' future," Pilot added.
Talking about Congress’ chances in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls as compared to 2014 and 2019, he said that every election is different and the people have experienced a full majority government now for over nine years.
"The 2024 elections will be based on the performance of the BJP government in the last 10 years. It won't be an election on emotive issues that are controversial, it will be focused on issues of development, people's issues of price rise, inflation, huge disparity between the rich and the poor, and nine years of governance, will matter," he said.
Pilot slams Centre
The Congress leader claimed that the Centre has “failed to perform” despite all sloganeering and the media management.
"On the other hand, after a very long time, almost the entire opposition has come together and the INDIA bloc has come together in full force. The 2024 polls will be decisive… coming together of the opposition parties is certainly ringing alarm bells in the BJP," he said.
"The double engine sarkaar has failed. I am of the opinion that in the next round of state elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram, we are on our way to victory. Those wins will certainly add to our workers' morale when we go to polls in 2024," Pilot added.
He also exuded confidence that Congress has to play a "leading role" in the I.N.D.I.A bloc because it is the largest party of the alliance.
“It is not about who occupies which position of power or post, all those issues would be taken up at the appropriate time perhaps even after the Lok Sabha polls,” he said.
Asked whether the Congress would play the role of the fulcrum of the opposition alliance as it did in the UPA, the former Union minister said everyone in the alliance has a role to play but the Congress is the largest party in Parliament among the bloc and in a democracy, numbers matter.
"Every constituent of INDIA is an important player and has a role to contribute. It is not about individual leaders or parties, it is about the issues that bring everyone together. It is about protecting the constitutional bodies, about institutions having the freedom and independence which is so crucial, it is about the blatant misuse of agencies against the opposition and having a government that doesn't debate, discuss or deliberate matters of national importance, so all those issues that deeply impact all of us are important," the 46-year-old leader said.
"The Congress party has to play a leading role because it is the largest party of the alliance but everyone is being given mutual respect and each other's political sensitivities are being regarded, that is what matters," Pilot said.
(With PTI inputs)
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