As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday reached Jaipur ahead of his full-day election campaign in the poll-bound state, chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot were seen together receiving Rahul Gandhi. “We are not seen together but we are united and will remain united. The Congress will sweep in Rajasthan,” Rahul Gandhi said amid speculations over a thaw between Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot ahead of the election. In the video shared by news agency ANI, Gehlot and Pilot were seen on either side of Rahul Gandhi and all of them had a ‘pehle aap’ moment as the leaders gestured for Rahul Gandhi to walk first.
Rahul Gandhi’s statement of unity comes a day after Ashok Gehlot’s X post on Wednesday in which he shared a photo of a party meeting also attended by Sachin Pilot. “Together, winning, again,” Gehlot captioned the post indicating that both Gehlot and Pilot have decided to bury the hatchet.
Gehlot versus Pilot goes back to 2020 when Sachin Pilot, then deputy chief minister, revolted against Gehlot with the support of 18 MLAs. Sachin Pilot was removed from the deputy post while his equation with Gehlot remained strained. Gehlot called him ‘traitor’, ‘nikamma’, while Sachin Pilot earlier this year went on an anti-corruption yatra against the Ashok Gehlot government.
Before Rahul Gandhi, Congress general secretary KC Venugopal asserted that the party remains united in Rajasthan. “A narrative is being peddled that there is no unity within the Congress in Rajasthan. However, I can confirm that our party remains united as before. All our leaders are standing together and fighting with the common aim of ensuring the BJP’s defeat and returning to power in Rajasthan. I believe that the public mood and pulse are in our favour. Let there be no worries. The Congress is on course on returning to power in Rajasthan,” Venugopal said.
