Rajasthan Assembly Elections: Putting an end to speculations of rift infighting within his party in the state, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Friday shared a video post on social media platforms of Congress leader Sachin Pilot urging people to vote for his party in the upcoming assembly election. This comes days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took an indirect dig at both leaders referring to the power tussle between them.
Notably, the polling for the Rajasthan Assembly will take place on Saturday.
The video post gains significance as the ongoing power struggle between Pilot and Gehlot has been recurring in the campaign for the Rajasthan assembly polls, with even the Prime Minister making references to it.
Gehlot posted the 1.51 minute video of Pilot on his social media platforms X, Facebook and Instagram.
Here's what Sachin Pilot said in video message
In the video, Pilot is seen urging the people to support the Congress, emphasising that the feedback, public response, and voter sentiment strongly indicate that the party is poised to once again establish the government in the state.
“We have held hundreds of meetings as part of the election campaign but there are some areas where we have not been able to reach even after trying, hence my humble appeal to you is to take everyone along, to maintain the pace of development of the state. To maintain the Congress' way of functioning, it is necessary that we forget all the things and press the button on the hand symbol and make all the Congress candidates win,” he said.
“I want to appeal to make Congress candidates win in all the assembly constituencies where I have not been able to go,” Pilot said. He continued that the victory will be the victory of the people of Congress.
“We will not let BJP's plan to stop the Congress government's schemes after forming the government succeed,” he added.
What PM Modi said on Gehlot-Pilot rift
In an apparent reference to Sachin Pilot and his father, late Rajesh Pilot, Prime Minister Modi said a Gurjar's son who gave his life to the Congress was removed like a fly in milk after the party came to power in Rajasthan. "A Gurjar's son struggles to make his place in politics, gives his life to the party and after coming to power, the royal family removes him like a fly in milk." They did the same with late Rajesh Pilot and are doing the same with his son," he said, alleging that the Congress is "insulting" Gurjars now and had insulted the community in the past too.
PM Modi had accused the Congress of punishing Sachin Pilot by meting out the same treatment to him as was done to his father, saying anyone who speaks the truth in the grand old party is shunted out of politics and suggesting that Rajesh Pilot lost favour with the Congress leadership after he contested against Sitaram Kesri for the party president's post in 1997.
Gehlot-Pilot rift
Gehlot and Pilot have been at loggerheads over the post of chief minister ever since the Congress formed government in December 2018, which also made Pilot resort to rebellion against Gehlot's leadership in 2020 that led to a political crisis. However, ahead of the 2023 assembly elections, the party said things have been sorted out and both the leaders said the past should be forgotten.
The Gurjar community has influence in eastern Rajasthan districts where the Congress had won a majority of seats in the last assembly elections.
Polling in 199 out of 200 assembly constituencies in Rajasthan will take place on Saturday and counting will be held on December 3. The election on the Karanpur seat has been adjourned due to the demise of Congress candidate Gurmeet Singh Koonar.
(With PTI inputs)
