MLAs and Congress president will decide the chief minister

A a few months ago, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi called a meeting to bring about a truce between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot.

- SONI MISHRA

At the meeting, Gehlot is learnt to have remarked that he had seen the 46-year-old Pilot grow up. An uneasy truce was brokered, but it remains tenuous against the backdrop of the unrelenting rivalry between Gehlot and Pilot.

In an exclusive interview with THE WEEK, Pilot says he has never responded in kind to Gehlot's harsh criticism of him. He says he believes that, in the event of a Congress victory, the race for the chief minister's post is open. He points to Gehlot's failure in 2013 as an incumbent to win, reminding that the party had plummeted to 21 seats in that election and that he helmed the uphill task from 2013 to 2018 to bring the party back to the majority mark.

Excerpts from the interview:

Q/What makes you confident about a Congress victory?

Rajasthan has in the last three decades seen revolving door politics. But I am confident that this time we will break that trend. After our victories in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka, we have strong tailwinds in the Congress organisation. Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra energised workers across the country. We have implemented most of the promises made in 2018. Also, the BJP is not a united force and is in total disarray in Rajasthan, while we are working unitedly.

Q/ Do you see any difference between 2018 and now? You were state party chief in 2018.

The difference is that now we are fighting as an incumbent. The last time when we fought as an incumbent, when we had a Congress chief minister in 2013, we came down to 21 seats in the 200-member assembly. From 21 to go to the majority mark in five years was a constant struggle. As far as my role now is concerned, I am working as hard as I can to ensure that the party wins.