Amid speculations of Pilot’s takeoff, Congress high command keeps fingers crossed

In the Mahabharata, it is said that when the Pandavas returned from the 12-year exile and sought to take back Hastinapur, the Karavas led by Duryodhana declined. Peace efforts by Lord Sri Krishna came to naught, and the last straw on the proverbial camel’s back was Duryodhana’s refusal to concede Yudhishthira’s rock-bottom demand for only five villages to be given to the five Pandava brothers so that the Pandavas could be happy ruling the five villages. Duryodhana had reportedly exclaimed, “I will not even give land as much as the tip of a needle.” The epic battle of the Mahabharata could not be averted. In the context of Rajasthan impasse, when Rahul Gandhi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and K C Venugopal met Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot and his bête noire in the last week of May 2023, the peace talks boiled down to the three demands of Sachin Pilot – high-level probe into charges of corruption against the previous Vasundhara Raje Scindia’s BJP government, disbanding of Rajasthan’s public service commission and a compensation for those affected by the Rajasthan government job exam paper leak cases. According to those who were present in the high-level deliberations, there was a general agreement that chief minister Gehlot would return to Jaipur and set up a panel to look into these demands or announce formation of probe panels. Nearly two weeks have passed and in spite of reported prodding by Kharge and K C Venugopal, the chief minister is unwilling to oblige. Faced with this brinkmanship, Kharge reportedly summoned Sachin Pilot to Delhi requesting him to wait till Rahul Gandhi returns from the US. Patience on the part of Sachin Pilot is crucial for Kharge who is giving the final shape to AICC restructuring and revamping of the Congress Working Committee. In Kharge’s scheme of things, if 11 June passes off ‘peacefully’, the Congress president would have time to enforce the Rajasthan peace formula. The significance of 11 June is due to Sachin Pilot’s mega rally scheduled to be held in Dausa on Sunday. This date marks the 23rd death anniversary of his father Rajesh Pilot. Sources close to Pilot rule out a possibility of any drastic action such as announcement of a breakaway group etc but sources close to Kharge are keeping their fingers crossed till June 11 passes off peacefully. A man of taste and letters, Kharge has a collection of quotes relating to an element of surprise in politics. Erin Hunter’s “surprise is the warrior’s greatest weapon,” is one of his favourites. The settlement of the Rajasthan impasse is a complex exercise for the Congress high command. While it has been partially successful in prevailing upon Pilot to accept its terms and conditions, the issue is far from settled. In addition, there is a constant flow of reports on how ace political strategist Prashant Kishor has teamed up with Pilot, an idea that is stoutly denied by both Pilot and Kishor. Kishor, in fact, told this correspondent with an air of despondence, “I have left the space [ of political consultancy] two years back and have nothing to do with such speculations.” At another occasion, he had cryptically remarked, “I haven’t put my foot on any vehicle since 2 October 2022. Have not gone to even see my family so where is the question of me meeting him [Pilot]. It is such irresponsible reporting on the part of so many journalists.” The question then comes to mind: Who has been spreading the Prashant Kishor bit in the media? Some Congress insiders point a finger at self-proclaimed poll strategist, a wannabee of sorts in the grand old party circles. In a more substantive manner, Congress insiders sound optimistic about Kharge-Rahul playing the role of an effective peace-maker when Gehlot accepts Pilot’s three demands. The acceptance of these demands that have struck a note of positivity with the youth in poll-bound Rajasthan, can help Kharge-Rahul duo to position Pilot in a new role that would present a united face of the Congress in Rajasthan. On the other hand, refusal to set up a panel of probe against the previous BJP regime looks both odd and jarring particularly when it was part of Congress’ 2018 election manifesto. On a day when a lot of attention is directed at Rajesh Pilot, it is worth looking at the life and times of the veteran party leader whose promising career was cut short on 11 June, 2000 in a freak road accident. A former Squadron Leader, Rajeshwar Prasad, as he was originally called, joined the Indian Air Force and liked flying so much that he changed his name to Rajesh Pilot. Hailing from a modest Gujjar family of western Uttar Pradesh, Rajesh Pilot, father of Sachin Pilot, used to regularly win from the Dausa Lok Sabha seat in Rajasthan. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s, Pilot remained popular with the middle class, and had established a good name for his politically correct stances, clean image and efficiency. In a political career spread over fifteen years, Pilot loved to take on the high and mighty and enjoyed the media attention. He was an efficient telecom minister under Rajiv Gandhi but after the Babri demolition in 1993, he began to score political points against the likes of Arjun Singh, Sharad Pawar, Madhavrao Scindia and Kamal Nath. On 25 February 1993, when the BJP organised a demonstration near Parliament, Pilot, as a junior minister in the internal security ministry, made unprecedented bandobast to thwart any threat to mosques in the area. Coming as it did soon after the Babri demolition, there were apprehensions the demonstration could turn violent, but the day passed peacefully. Pilot boasted that had he been in-charge of security on 6 December, 1992, instead of his senior S.B. Chavan in the internal security ministry, the mosque would not have been demolished. Pilot senior then turned on the heat on godman Chandraswami who was close to the then prime minister Narasimha Rao. A tantrik, Chandraswami had powerful friends like international arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi, the Sultan of Brunei, and Margaret Thatcher, and equally well-placed enemies. In 1995 when the Congress under Rao was in power, Chandraswami was wanted in connection with a series of cases, but nobody could act against him due to his high connections. Pilot got him arrested. It was more than a coincidence that in the subsequent Cabinet reshuffle, Pilot was shunted out of internal security to look after forests and the environment. In private conversation, Pilot (Senior) used to say he was a modest ‘doodhwala’ who, as a young child, sold milk on a bicycle in Lutyens Delhi. Senior Pilot’s friends now say had he lived on, ‘doodhwala’ could have taken on ‘chaiwala’. On 11 June 2000, he drove a jeep at breakneck speed from Dausa to Jaipur to catch a flight to Delhi, he overtook his own escort vehicle at a blind spot and collided with a state transport bus. The man who was always in a hurry left behind a thousand and one unfulfilled ambitions.

The writer is a visiting fellow at the Observer Research Foundation. A well-known political analyst, he has written several books, including ‘24 Akbar Road’ and ‘Sonia: A Biography’. Views expressed are personal. Read all the  Latest News,  Trending News,  Cricket News,  Bollywood News, India News and  Entertainment News here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.