Sachin Pilot, a Congress leader, has started a one-day fast in Jaipur protesting against corruption in the state government, targeting his party rival Ashok Gehlot. Pilot has accused Gehlot of not acting on allegations against the BJP’s Vasundhara Raje. The Gehlot government has denied Pilot’s allegations of inaction. The Congress had warned Pilot against the fast, calling it “anti-party activity”. Pilot, who has been eyeing the Chief Minister’s post, is seen as putting pressure on the Congress leadership to settle the issue of who will be the key face of the party in Rajasthan in an election year. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, the Congress’s Rajasthan in-charge, has warned Sachin Pilot that his day-long fast against corruption is “against the party interests” and amounts to “anti-party activity”.
Randhawa has suggested that if Pilot has any issues with the government, he should discuss them within the party forums rather than going public with them. Pilot has been eyeing the Chief Minister’s post in Rajasthan for a long time, and his latest confrontation with the Gehlot government is being seen as an attempt to put pressure on the Congress leadership to settle the issue of who will be the key face of the party in Rajasthan in an election year.The current confrontation between Sachin Pilot and the Gehlot government is seen by some as a power struggle within the Rajasthan Congress party. Pilot has been eyeing the Chief Minister’s post for a long time, and his protest fast against corruption is seen as a way to put pressure on the Congress leadership to settle the issue of who will be the key face of the party in the upcoming election. It remains to be seen how this power struggle will be resolved and what impact it will have on the Congress party’s prospects in Rajasthan.
