The past week's developments have given little cause for celebration in the Sachin Pilot camp. But the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister wore a smile as he exited 10 Janpath in Lutyens Delhi after meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday evening. Why precisely was the 45-year-old cheerful?
The answer to this question is that Pilot knows he was the high command's choice for replacing the incumbent Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot this time round. Despite facing strong opposition from Gehlot loyalist MLAs, who are as many as 90, Pilot realises that unlike in 2020 when he and his associates rebelled, the CM's supporters committed grave indiscipline on this occasion by skipping the Congress Legislature Party meeting and holding a parallel meeting.
Gehlot's image as a staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family has also taken a hit after the events that unfolded in Jaipur, allowing Pilot to both appear as a victim and point out the irreverence shown by Gehlot supporters towards the party's top leadership. Pilot either remained silent throughout the crisis or took to Twitter to refute reports of him giving suggestions to the high command about Gehlot's fate. Unlike 2020, his loyalists also refrained from attacking Gehlot.
What next for Pilot?
Congress general secretary K C Venugopal has said Sonia Gandhi will decide on the fate of the Rajasthan CM in the next two days. Gehlot has said he will abide by the high command's decision. However, it remains to be seen if Pilot gets the reins of the state government. Even if he doesn't, Pilot knows he remains the high command's choice for the CM's post and could even get a more prominent role in the party's state unit. Pilot, the longest serving state Congress chief until 2020, was sacked from the post and as the deputy CM after rebelling against Gehlot. He holds no party post and is an MLA from the Tonk constituency. However, the passage of time has helped mend his image.
(The writer is a senior journalist based in Rajasthan.)