Gehlot and Pilot lock horns, Congress high command unimpressed

New Delhi, June 04: The gloomy days for the Congress still continue after the Lok Sabha poll debacle. While Congress president Rahul Gandhi seems to be adamant on resigning from his post, his lieutenants in Rajasthan have started washing their dirty linen in public over the party's dismal performance in the state in the Lok Sabha polls.

Despite defeating the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in last year's assembly polls, the Congress could not win even a single seat out of Rajasthan's 25 Lok Sabha seats.

After the results were announced, Rahul Gandhi expressed his unhappiness over certain party leaders giving preference to their sons rather than the party during Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul's charge was aimed at Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath.

As soon as Gehlot came to know about Rahul's displeasure, he camped in Delhi for three days but Rahul didn't meet him.

Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot also rushed to Delhi but failed to meet Rahul.

Both Gehlot and Pilot returned to Rajasthan and have started accusing each other for the Lok Sabha drubbing.

Though Pilot has refrained from directly attacking Gehlot, his camp has openly held the Chief Minister responsible for the Congress' defeat in the state.

Gehlot went a step further on Monday when he openly accused Pilot for his son Vaibhav Gehlot's defeat in Jodhpur.

"Pilot saab said that we will win Jodhpur with a big margin because we have six MLAs in the Lok Sabha constituency. So, I feel he should own responsibility for that seat at least," Gehlot told ABP News in an interview.

Pilot has refused to comment, but the Congress leadership in Delhi is unimpressed with both Gehlot and Pilot.

"The party leadership is aware that the rift between both Gehlot and Pilot proved more damaging for the party then the BJP. Now, both have been trying to prove their innocence and impress the Gandhi family by holding each other responsible for the debacle, but it's unlikely the party high command will buy their gimmicks," a Congress insider tells OneIndia.

Gehlot and Pilot lead their respective factions in the state. Last year, Pilot was left behind in the race of chief minister as Rahul had selected Gehlot for the top post and appointed Pilot as his deputy. According to the sources, since then both have been at loggerheads and don't miss any chance to damage each other.