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,Jaipur. Becoming the Chief Minister is not important for any Congress leader in Rajasthan. Sachin Pilot’s (Sachin Pilot.’) top priority is to win the elections. He rejected the lack of a joint campaign by him and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and said the BJP should respond; Its top leaders from Rajasthan are “angry”. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that in Rajasthan, CM Gehlot and Pilot have only tried to ‘drive each other away’ since 2018. Pilot said that BJP should talk about the confusion going on in the party and took a dig at Vasundhara Raje.
Sachin Pilot said that when the question of joint campaign comes, photo-poster etc. is not important. Pilot said he respects Gehlot who has given “balanced statements” recently. He said it is important for the Congress to win in the three or four states where elections are going to be held so that the party is in a position to defeat the BJP in 2024. Pilot said that BJP is running a “negative campaign” in the state. It is engaged in copying and repackaging the schemes of Congress.
BJP lacks issues and has nothing to tell the people. What has the BJP government at the Center done for Rajasthan in the last 10 years and what is their roadmap for the next 5 years? They are just sitting in the hope that due to natural change there will be a change of power in Rajasthan and they will get the benefit of history. Unfortunately for them this is not true. The ground reality is different. Congress has performed well in the two states where voting took place, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. It is clear from the comments of the top leadership of BJP that they have very little to give to the people of Rajasthan, hence they are only making allegations, and are unable to tell what they will do for the people of Rajasthan?
But what the PM is saying is not a complete lie… There was a rift between you and Ashok Gehlot? Sachin Pilot: This is a complete lie. There are some issues that I thought were important to people. I raised those issues, the party took cognizance, formed a committee, we took corrective steps, the state government took action and that is why today we are in a position to say that we will come back. Whenever we form a government, we never return to power. But this time, because of what we (I and Gehlot) have done together, we raised the issue of the people of the state and the government took action on it, we are in a good position to defeat the anti-incumbency wave.
It is to our credit that we were able to debate, discuss and find the best path forward for the party, the government and the people of Rajasthan. Unfortunately BJP had absolute majority as they had all the MPs from the state but they did nothing for the state. Even now his campaign is a negative campaign. They don’t have any blueprint, they don’t have a 5 year agenda, they are copying our plans. There is a lack of clarity in his leadership in Rajasthan and even the campaign lacks momentum. Why are they bringing people from all over the country here to campaign? This is because their state leaders do not have a grip and connection on the ground.
It is the BJP which lacks clarity in all aspects – you see an angry leader in Rajasthan, you see many candidates trying for that post in Rajasthan and campaigns are going on everywhere. People are assessing both parties and perceptions.
But there is no clarity regarding the face of Congress CM in Rajasthan…
Sachin Pilot: As a party, it is always the BJP which announces the CM face and PM face. As a party we follow a process where the organization works and gets the mandate and the elected MLAs talk to the top leadership and decide who will lead the government. There is no change in our tradition, it is for all the states going to elections. No announcement is made from our side before the elections, only BJP takes pride in announcing the names, why did they not do so this time? You must ask them this question.
