New Delhi: On a day when Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot appeared to have crushed his deputy’s revolt, it appears that matters may have yet to come to a head between the Congress party and Sachin Pilot.

On Monday evening, the Congress circulated a message saying that Pilot had been invited to meet AICC leaders in Jaipur on Tuesday, failing which he may be removed from the party.

“Sachin is being invited to a meeting tomorrow morning at 10 am in Jaipur with five AICC emissaries including K.C. Venugopal (who is currently the general secretary in-charge of organisation). If he declines, it may come to a parting of the ways with the party,” the message said.

Pilot, along with some of his supporters, is currently in the national capital region at a hotel. Late on Monday night, Pilot circulated a video on his media WhatsApp group where about 18 MLAs were seen sitting in a garden.

Earlier in the morning, Gehlot presented over a 100 MLAs in his support at his residence in Jaipur. Although only 89 of the 107 Congress legislators were present at the meeting, independents and MLAs from other parties came forward to register their support for the Gehlot government. Given that the chief minister needs 101 MLAs in the 200-member assembly, the chief minister’s show of strength appeared to be enough to leave Pilot without much bargaining power.

The stern message to Pilot has come after the failure of repeated attempts by the Congress leadership to appease Pilot. Even after Gehlot showed that he could still win the trust vote, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala, who had also reached Jaipur, had extended a friendly hand to Pilot and urged him to reconsider his stand.

Other party leaders also said that Pilot would be given “a chance to resolve issues at a party forum” and that the Congress president also sent a message across to Pilot saying, “Our doors are open.”

Yet, Pilot is said to have made no contact either with the Gandhis or the AICC leaders. Multiple Congress leaders claimed that he has been negotiating with the BJP, and looking for some help from the saffron party to somehow turn things in his favour.

Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot flashes the victory sign during a meeting with party MLAs at his residence in Jaipur on Monday. Photo: PTI

Gehlot, on his part, upped his ante to corner Pilot further. The MLAs present at the meeting, which he steered passed a resolution calling for penal action against Pilot. He went on to lodge all his supporters at a hotel in Jaipur.

The meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) issued a resolution fully supporting the Gehlot government and the party leadership under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.  “The party strongly condemns all undemocratic malpractices that undermine the Congress government or the Congress party and demands that any Congress official or legislator, if directly or indirectly, involves in anti-party activities or conspires them, then strict disciplinary action should be taken against them,” the resolution read.

It is unclear what action will be taken against the legislators who also missed the meeting. Earlier, Avinash Pande, the AICC-in charge for Rajasthan had warned that strict action will be taken against those who do not show up at the meeting.

Beginning of the current crisis

A long-winding tiff between Gehlot and Pilot came to the stage of a showdown when Pilot ferried some MLAs to New Delhi on Sunday morning to press the central leadership to take note of his rebellion. Gehlot had then called for a legislative party meeting at Jaipur on Monday morning. The AICC emissaries – Avinash Pande, K.C.Venugopal. Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala and Rajeev Satav – reached Jaipur to manage the crisis.

Pilot flatly refused to participate, and claimed that the 30 MLAs who support him would also not attend the meeting. This would have meant that Gehlot’s faction would have been reduced to a minority government. However, given the turnout at the meeting, it became clear that Pilot had the support of not more than 15 MLAs. 

After firefighting all day, it appears the Congress may be able to prevent a Madhya Pradesh repeat in Rajasthan. However, if Pilot, 42, does not agree to restore the status quo, it may end up losing one of its most promising young leaders.

At the moment, there are no signs of a compromise between the two factions. Pilot has alleged that he was humiliated by Gehlot despite the fact he occupied the important chair of deputy chief minister and held two ministerial portfolios – PWD and rural development. His supporters have also said that over the last few months, Gehlot has been trying hard to snatch the PCC president’s post from Pilot, and place one of his aides in the chair.

What are the chances of a compromise?

Since the beginning of the crisis two days ago, Pilot has been either speaking through the media or his supporters. Statements of his supporters indicate that he may not be ready to work out a compromise, and may even well float his own party if he does not end up joining the BJP.Despite Pilot’s disadvantageous position, some of those who had given the meeting a miss publicly spoke out against Gehlot, leaving little room for negotiation. 

Mukesh Bhakar, a Congress MLA from Ladnun in Nagaur tweeted on Monday evening, “Loyalty in Congress means Ashok Gehlot’s slavery. That is not acceptable to us.”Food and civil supplies minister of Rajasthan Ramesh Meena also told the media that he supports Pilot.

Amidst accusations from a section of party leaders that the party doesn’t promote young leaders like Pilot or give them their due, the Congress itself is in a quandary. It may have managed to stabilise the crisis at the moment but at the end it may have to choose between two of its most prominent leaders, Gehlot and Pilot.

The Pilot-Gehlot row has given the state’s opposition room to flex its muscles. The BJP has found an opportunity to work the situation around in its favour. In a press conference held on Monday, the saffron party attacked the Congress over the current political crisis, stating that it has not transformed itself according to the changing political scenario.

“The party could not address the opposition and resentment among its new generation of leaders, be it Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia or Sachin Pilot. This is the reason why it has disappeared from the political map of the nation,” said Satish Poonia, Rajasthan BJP president.

It claimed that the Congress had forcibly brought its MLAs to the meeting.“Police has been guarding Congress legislators’ residence to forcibly bring them to the meeting but despite the siege, the number of MLAs he [Gehlot] was claiming did not gather,” he added. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP), which has two MLAs in the state assembly, has now withdrawn its support to the Gehlot government.

Given the obstinacy of both the factions, it appears that the political row in Rajasthan isn’t over yet. However, with Gehlot having survived the scare thus far, Pilot’s position as a Congress stalwart in the state has suffered a hit.