Is Sachin Pilot really preparing to form a third front in Rajasthan?

Till now, the political style of the people of Rajasthan has been that except BJP and Congress, no third party has ever been very strong here. Occasionally, the parties formed by the BSP and some regional leaders have definitely been getting some seats, but the role of the government and the opposition has been played by the BJP and the Congress. Out of this, one party runs the government in Rajasthan and the other remains in the role of opposition in the assembly.

But from the attitude of Sachin Pilot, former President of Rajasthan Congress and Deputy Chief Minister in the Ashok Gehlot government, it seems that this time he is going to do something in Rajasthan which had never happened before. It seems that Sachin Pilot is trying to set up a third front in the state. Although he has not said anything about it openly yet, but it seems so from the political messages.

It is being told that Prashant Kishore, popularly known as PK, has entered the politics of Rajasthan. The news is coming that Prashant Kishor’s company IPAC has been entrusted with the politics and future strategy of Sachin Pilot and if this news is true then it only means that Sachin Pilot will do something different from Congress and BJP this time. Working on a new plan.

In fact, it is believed that Rahul Gandhi, who sent Sachin Pilot to Rajasthan by giving him a big responsibility like the state president, has also left him alone this time. Just a few years ago, in the year 2018, Sachin Pilot was being described as the rising star of the Congress. Rahul Gandhi had sent him to Jaipur by making him the President of Rajasthan Congress with great hopes. The Gandhi family had entrusted Sachin Pilot with the responsibility of ousting the then BJP government of Vasundhara Raje Scindia from power by defeating it in the assembly elections. At that time, Ashok Gehlot was made the national general secretary (organisation) of the party, which is considered to be the most powerful post in the Congress after the national president.

Till before the elections, it was believed that if the Congress wins the elections in Rajasthan, then only Sachin Pilot would become the Chief Minister of the state, after all, Rahul Gandhi, the most powerful man and future face of the Congress at that time, was on his head. Living up to Rahul Gandhi’s trust, Sachin Pilot as state president defeated the BJP in the assembly elections and ousted Vasundhara Raje Scindia from power. But when it came to crowning the Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot, popularly known as the magician, left Delhi and turned towards Jaipur. At that time, a lobby of politicians managed to convince Rahul Gandhi that Pilot was still young and had a long time to become the chief minister. But from 2018 to 2023, the situation for Sachin Pilot in the Congress party continued to become increasingly uncomfortable.

It is now clearly visible from the stand of the Congress party that Sachin Pilot is not going to get the post of CM in this term and at the moment he is not getting any concrete assurance regarding the future. The clear way in which the central leadership of the Congress supported Ashok Gehlot against the fast of Sachin Pilot and the way in which the state in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, along with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and state president Govind Singh Dotasara met the Congress MLAs one-to-one. Taking feedback, it is also becoming clear that Congress will contest the assembly elections under the leadership of Gehlot. On the other hand, by sitting on hunger strike demanding an inquiry into the corruption case during Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s tenure, he has closed his doors for the BJP as well because the BJP has also angered Vasundhara Raje Scindia before the elections by appointing Sachin Pilot as its own. Can’t afford to join the party. Pilot is also well aware of this, so it is being said that he can now try to prove his strength by raising a third front in the politics of the state.

Lok Sabha MP from Rajasthan and National Democratic Party President Hanuman Beniwal has already advised Sachin Pilot to resign from Congress and form a new party immediately. Beniwal is ready to contest the elections together with Pilot’s new party and is also ready to declare him as the chief ministerial face.

After becoming a national party, the Aam Aadmi Party is also vigorously preparing to contest the elections in Rajasthan. The day when Sachin Pilot was on fast, the Aam Aadmi Party was the first to come out in his support. In such a situation, it is being expressed that in the name of corruption, the Aam Aadmi Party may also join the Pilot’s front. According to political experts, if Sachin Pilot, Hanuman Beniwal and Kejriwal join together to form a third front, then not only Congress but also BJP can spoil the equation, but if Mayawati’s party BSP also joins their alliance. If it goes, then they can create a new history in the politics of Rajasthan, but there are many ifs and buts in it whether Sachin Pilot is ready to take a big decision like breaking away from the Congress and forming his new political party? Hanuman Beniwal has accepted him as a leader, but are Mayawati and Kejriwal ready to accept Pilot as a leader in Rajasthan? The answers to all these questions are currently hidden in the womb of the future.

Santosh Pathak

(The author is a senior journalist and columnist.)