Rajasthan: Amid Rift With CM Gehlot, Sachin Pilot To Float New Party? Here's What Congress Says

As the political pot boils in election-bound Rajasthan, speculations are rife that former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot appears ready to sever his ties with the Congress and go his own way.

While some reports suggest that Pilot may announce the formation of a new party, others, quoting sources, indicate that his focus remains solely on the fulfillment of his demands.

However, Congress general secretary in-charge of Rajasthan Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa ruled out the possibility of dissident leader Sachin Pilot floating a new party.

Randhawa, who reached Jaipur in the evening, also said that the party will assign responsibilities to Rajasthan leaders according to their stature. "I am hearing this from you, I think there is no such thing. He (Pilot) did not have this in his mind before and does not have it now," he told reporters when asked about speculations of the formation of a new party by Pilot. Randhawa also said it is the media which is raising the issue.

He reiterated that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had recently talked to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Delhi in which both the Rajasthan leaders ''agreed to work unitedly''.

He reiterated that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi had recently talked to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot in Delhi in which both the Rajasthan leaders ''agreed to work unitedly''.

The power struggle between Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, which emerged since the Congress-formed government in Rajasthan in 2018, has persisted throughout the five-year term. With the state due to undergo elections later this year, the infighting has escalated further. In April of this year, Pilot defied warnings from the party and observed a day-long fast against the alleged "inaction" of the Gehlot government in investigating the corruption allegations.

According to a report from PTI, a recent meeting between Chief Minister Gehlot, Pilot, and party leaders Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi failed to resolve the "core issues" between the two prominent leaders in Rajasthan.