Friday, 17 May, 2024
Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot have been trading barbs time and again ever since Congress came back to power in Rajasthan in 2018 Assembly election
It seems that the war-of-words between Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot is a never ending affair. The two leaders have been trading barbs time and again ever since Congress came back to power in Rajasthan in 2018 Assembly election. The latest one being Pilot's jibe on the state's law and order following the death of a Dalit boy last week. Pilot said: “Only laws, speeches and actions are not enough. I hope that the government and administration will do justice to the family members as soon as possible, not just doing a formality".
Before this, Gehlot had taken a dig at Pilot during the Independence Day function. Gehlot said, “People who never cared about party workers when they were in high positions will now teach me how to respect party workers". This was in response to Pilot's statement that no one should be unnecessarily upset if Rahul Gandhi has praised his "patience". The former Rajasthan deputy chief minister also said that Gehlot is an experienced, elderly and father figure for him and he does not take his words otherwise.
CVoter-Indiatracker did a survey did a quick survey on the issue to find out what the country thinks about the tug of war between the two most influential leaders of Congress in Rajasthan. The respondents were asked do think Pilot and Gehlot Gehlot will fight openly once again. A whopping 61 percent of the respondents reacted positively while 39 percent said the chances of open rebillion is slim.
As the accompanying chart shows, Indians across age, gender, educational, income, religious and ethnic backgrounds believed that the party will remain united. 62 percent youths (18-24 age group), while 56 percent senior citizens gave a positive response. Support among rural and urban class was 62 and 61 percent respectively. More males (63 percent) said the two leaders will have differences in future as compared to as compared to 58 percent females.
We saw a similar pattern among ethnic groups. A whopping 65 percent of upper caste Hindus, 65 percent Dalits and 60 percent Tribals felt Pilot and Gehlot Gehlot will fight openly once again. 57 percent Muslims gave a similar response. Although, the support was muted among the Sikhs (27 percent). If we talk about political supporters, 70 percent of NDA voters and 54 percent of UPA supporters felt the tug of war between the two leaders will be seen in future.
Looking at the responses, the country feels that reconciliation between these two individuals is extremely unlikely. Rajasthan goes to polls at the end of 2023, and if the top leadership of Congress does not act urgently to sort this out, it could have an adverse impact on the election results.
