New Delhi: In a move that has sparked renewed speculation of a possible rapprochement within the Rajasthan Congress, senior party leader Sachin Pilot on Saturday visited the residence of former chief minister Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur to personally invite him to an event commemorating the 25th death anniversary of his father and former Union minister, Rajesh Pilot.
The meeting, which lasted over an hour, is being closely watched in political circles given the strained ties between the two leaders over the past several years. Once seen as the face of the party’s youth resurgence, Pilot fell out with the Congress veteran after being overlooked for the chief ministerial post in 2018, despite playing a key role in reviving the party following its rout in the 2013 assembly elections.
Speculation of possible detente
Both leaders posted about the interaction on social media platform X, adding fuel to speculation of a possible detente ahead of organisational restructuring in the state unit.
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“Met former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot today. Requested him to attend the tribute ceremony in Dausa on June 11 to mark my father Rajesh Pilot’s 25th death anniversary,” Pilot posted, along with a photo of the meeting.
Gehlot also acknowledged the visit, sharing a video and recalling his close association with Rajesh Pilot. “Rajesh Pilot and I entered the Lok Sabha together in 1980. We shared an 18-year-long political journey. His untimely death in 2000 was a personal loss and a setback for the Congress,” he wrote.
First public meeting
This is the first public meeting between the two since their acrimonious fallout, which culminated in a political crisis in 2020 when Pilot, then Deputy chief minister, rebelled against Gehlot’s leadership along with 18 MLAs. Gehlot had accused Pilot of colluding with the BJP to destabilise the Congress government, publicly calling him “nikamma” (useless) and “nakara” (incompetent), comments that deepened the rift.
Despite multiple attempts by the central leadership—including Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi—to broker peace, the divide within the Rajasthan Congress has persisted, with the state unit effectively split into two factions.
