Sachin Pilot to float new party on June 11 -- the death anniversary of of his father Rajesh Pilot

The Congress leadership has failed to bring peace between aggrieved 45-year-old Sachin Pilot and the aging Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and now the split is staring grand old party's Rajasthan unit. 

Sachin Pilot undertook a Pad-Yatra 'foot march' last month and despite repeated meetings including with Congress president Malikarjun Kharge, the Pilot camp indicates that they will not go back on their demands or making any compromise for a probe against BJP leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, reconstitution of Rajasthan Public Service Commission and compensation for youth who suffered due to question paper leaks. 

Now it seems it has also come to light that Pilot is not taking Rahul Gandhi’s assurance to address his concerns at a later stage 'seriously'. Sachin Pilot, who was Deputy CM in the Gehlot ministry, was to a large extent was instrumental for his party's victory in 2018 assembly polls. During his Pad-Yatra, Sachin hd set May 31 as his deadline to meet his three demands. They have not been conceded to by Gehlot.

On May 31, Pilot, during a visit to his constituency Tonk, asserted yet again that he would not make any compromises with the three demands.  

Jaipur Press Club: With Sanjay Sharma 

In 2018 October I traveled across Rajasthan on the eve of polls. It is not any hush-hush matter. Every body was talking about it. There was an immense fund crisis in the Congress - out of power in Delhi since 2014 and also having lost several key states.

That year, the Congress party has also launched a nationwide door-to-door election campaign to raise funds. The then Rajasthan state unit president Sachin Pilot had tweeted: “I appeal to the people of Rajasthan to support the crowd funding initiative of @INCIndia for upcoming Rajasthan Elections to usher in an era of clean and transparent funding.”

    

But - creditably for Sachin Pilot - as I spoke to a few Congress leaders at Pradesh Congress office I could 'realise' that Junior Pilot - son of illustrious father Rajesh Pilot - was managing things displaying efficacy and without harbouring ill feelings towards anyone.

"This fund raising and fund management comes with my job as Pradesh Congress chief. Nothing very great about it," he reportedly told some of his trusted aides in the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress.

One close confidant had endorsed the statement readily and said: "Thanks to Sachin Pilot ji, he is managing all the funds. There are no complaints so far...But today's poll management is directly linked to money management".  

See my 2018 blog

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Rural Rajasthan 

In a bid to defuse the tensions, Mallirajun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had held discussions with Gehlot and Pilot separately last week. There was a photo session at Kharge's 10 Rajaji Marg residence in Delhi. 

Addressing reporters after the meeting earlier this week, Congress general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal had said, "Both the leaders, Ashok ji and Sachin ji, agreed to the proposal on these things." Asked what proposal he was talking out, Venugopal had said, "Both have left it to the (party) high command." 

In 2020, Pilot led a revolt against the Gehlot government after which he was removed from the posts of the party's state unit president and deputy chief minister.

Last year, an attempt by the high command to effect a leadership change in Rajasthan had failed after Ashok Gehlot camp dug heels in and did not allow a legislature party meeting to take place. Gehlot even gave up his earlier intent to take over as AICC president. Kharge was precisely  compromise formula after 'misadventures' wih Gehlot.