Sachin Pilot Meets Sonia Gandhi, "Hopes For Right Decision" On Rajasthan

Congress leader Sachin Pilot met with his party chief Sonia Gandhi today, a day after her meeting with Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on a long-overdue cabinet reshuffle.

"We are all Congress. There is no 'you and me'. There are a few vacancies in the state cabinet. All factors will be considered by the high command in filling these vacancies. I hope the party will take the right decision," Sachin Pilot told reporters after the 45-minute meeting.

"Elections are due in two years. Usually alternative governments come to power in Rajasthan. We are working to strengthen the party to return to power in 2023," he added.

Sachin Pilot has been waiting for over a year for Mr Gehlot to accommodate his supporters in the Rajasthan Congress government but the Chief Minister has, so far, held out.

Four or five MLAs from Sachin Pilot's camp are likely to be included in the Gehlot cabinet.

Sources say Sachin Pilot, who was removed as Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister after his revolt last year, may be moved to a central role. He told reporters that he was willing to take any responsibility the party gave him.

"The party high command will decide on the cabinet reshuffle in Rajasthan. We want good governance to continue in the state," Mr Gehlot had told reporters after his meeting with Sonia Gandhi on Thursday.

Reports suggest the Congress favours a "one leader-one post" policy, which means some leaders may move from the state government to the party organisation.

"Three senior members of Gehlot Cabinet are likely to be removed from their post as they have already been given responsibilities in the party. Rajasthan Congress chief Govind Dotasra, (Congress in-charge) of Punjab Harish Chaudhry, in-charge of Gujarat Raghu Sharma are likely to be out in the reshuffle. They themselves have requested to work for the party," news agency ANI quoted a source as saying.

Party leaders say the cabinet expansion will take into account the party's preps for the 2023 Rajasthan election.

Mr Pilot had been promised that his supporters would get more positions in the state government when he agreed to drop his rebellion last year.

The Congress leader lost out on the Chief Minister's post after leading the party to victory in the 2018 state election, and settled for the role of Mr Gehlot's deputy. But last year, he stormed to Delhi, complaining about a raw deal, and demanded a correction. 

Mr Pilot's revolt along with 18 MLAs brought Mr Gehlot's government to the verge of collapse.

At the time, three Congress MLAs had pulled away from Mr Pilot to avoid a repeat of Madhya Pradesh, where Jyotiraditya Scindia joined the BJP with 22 MLAs, causing the Congress government to crash. These MLAs are also expected to be compensated by Mr Gehlot with ministries or posts.