Exclusive: Sachin Pilot informs Junior Gehlot about polls, his election plans

Sachin Pilot gives exclusive interview to NDTV

Jaipur:

Senior party leader Sachin Pilot told NDTV that the Congress party has chosen Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav and Kamal Nath. There is nothing wrong in Kamal Nath’s son Nakul contesting the Lok Sabha election, while stressing that the BJP has also provided votes to many leaders whose fathers are in politics.

In an exclusive conversation on the eve of the election, Mr. Pilot said Congress selected the candidate after conducting a survey and taking into account all factors.

So far, the Congress party has announced its candidate list for 82 Lok Sabha seats. The party has fielded 10 of the 25 seats in Rajasthan.

Ahead of the release of the second list, there was speculation whether Mr Pilot would emerge from the Tonk-Sawai Madhopur seat. He currently represents the Tonk parliamentary constituency. However, Congress chose former IPS officer Harish Chandra Meena to replace Tonk.

Asked if he would contest the general election, Mr Pilot said: “It is not a question of whether I want to contest or not. I will do what the party instructs me to do. I have contested the assembly elections and am part of the assembly.” “Government .I am now in charge of Chhattisgarh. We have 11 seats there. It is my responsibility and so is Tonk-Sawai Madhopur,” he said.

The Congress party did not win any seats in Rajasthan in the 2014 and 2019 general elections. There are reports that many senior leaders are reluctant to run given the party’s dismal poll record.

Asked about the party’s poor record, Mr Pilot said: “In the last two elections, we did not open an account. This time, we will win with interest.”

He said the election of congressional candidates was a joint exercise. “All candidates are our candidates. If Nakul Nath and Vaibhav Gehlot got tickets, then what is the problem? Vaibhav did not win last time so the party gave him a second chance. As long as we win there is no problem .” Many people in the BJP got tickets and their fathers and grandfathers were politicians. No one talks about this,” he said.

The remarks are significant in the context of the fierce contest between Mr Pilot and senior Gehlot for control of the Congress in Rajasthan. Internal strife nearly toppled the Congress-led government in 2020 when Mr Pitt led a large number of MPs in rebellion. Although the Congress subsequently managed to contain the damage, fighting within the state units persisted. The rivalry between Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot is considered one of the key factors that led to the Congress’ heavy defeat in state polls last year.

As the election approaches, the party is trying to present a united front.

Vaibhav Gehlot had contested the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Jodhpur but lost to BJP heavyweight Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. After the elections, Ashok Gehlot dropped the gloves and held Mr Pilot, then the BJP chief, responsible for his son’s defeat. Mr. Pilot said in an interview in 2022 that the Congress leadership sent him to contest the 2019 elections on the insistence of Vaibhav Gehlot. He also backed junior Gehlot after the central agency raided his residence in connection with a money laundering probe.