Sachin Pilot nearly ‘shot a Scindia’ earlier this year when he rebelled against Ashok Gehlot
Jaipur:
Jyotiraditya Scindia, whose defection from Congress to the BJP is the main trigger for circumvention in 28 Madhya Pradesh seats on November 3, is opposed to his old party as he campaigns in his own territory, Gwalior.
16 of the seats where the bypolls take place are in the Gwalior-Chambal region, considered a stronghold of the Scindias, a former royal family. To stay in power, the BJP must win eight seats. Congress, if it wins the 28, can attempt to come back.
The man Congress has designated as its star activist in the region is Sachin Pilot, Mr Scindia’s former comrade in arms. The two were seen as close collaborators before Mr Scindia’s revolt knocked him out of Congress.
Mr Pilot almost ‘shot a Scindia’ earlier this year when he rebelled against Rajasthan’s Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. But after weeks of sulking, Mr. Pilot came after talks with Congress President Sonia Gandhi, son Rahul Gandhi and daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
The congressman today refused to directly target his ex-colleague as he campaigned for the defeat of his candidates. “The public knows exactly why these polls are taking place. I am campaigning for my party, they are campaigning for theirs. People will decide,” Pilot told GalacticGaming.
At congressional rallies, Mr. Pilot is presented as an example of solving his problems within the party and overtaking instead of defecting like Mr. Scindia. When pointed out, the Congress leader again avoided attacking Mr Scindia: “In our party, whatever it is to say and hear, there is a mechanism. I expressed my point By the way, I am glad that the President of Congress took note of this and mapped out a path of resolution. “
Mr Scindia, asked if this was turning out to be a Congress versus Congress fight in his field, said: “This is an election for every worker in the BJP. All workers and party leaders are working together – this is a first for me. When I was in Congress, there was huge factionalism. There is a lot of discipline in BJP. “
He added that in these circumventions, “the BJP has everything to gain, Congress has everything to lose”.
