'Raat Gayi, Baat Gayi': Sachin Pilot On Feud With Ashok Gehlot

In one of the biggest political rapprochements in recent memory, senior Congress leaders Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot were seen together at an event to commemorate the 25th death anniversary of the former's father and ex-Union Minister Rajesh Pilot. 

Mr Gehlot, a former Rajasthan chief minister, and Rajesh Pilot, his former deputy, also made the right noises, indicating that their feud, which stretches back to at least 2018, has been buried. 

Speaking exclusively to NDTV after the event, Mr Pilot said the Congress party does not have two factions and that the differences between them  were water under the bridge

"There have been no two groups within the party. If there were differences of opinion, we sat down together and figured out how to move forward. In the 2023 elections, we did not win, but we did fairly well - we got 70-odd seats out of 200. It has been the endeavour of everybody, Congress President (Mallikarjun Kharge), (Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi, that these are times that are challenging for the country, for the party, and we have to be united to take on the BJP. We have always been united in Rajasthan and the ultimate objective is to strengthen the organisation and win the next polls," he said.

To a question on the unsavoury things Mr Gehlot has said about him in the past, like calling him "useless", Mr Pilot said, "Raat gayi so baat gayi (what's in the past is in the past). Who said what is all in the past. Time won't come back, we have to look ahead. We have to work together... The future lies in working unitedly to combat forces that are bent upon dividing the country. The Congress is the only alternative nationwide that can propose any hope."

Mr Gehlot also stressed that there had never been differences between the two leaders. 

"We were never far apart. 'Prem mohabbat bani rehti hai aur bani rahegi'. (Love and affection was there and will continue to remain)," the senior leader said. 

The former chief minister also remembered his long association with Rajesh Pilot. "Today, we are paying tribute to him. Look at the enthusiasm of the people... This gathering in itself is a message about the kind of personality he had. I have worked with him and memories of that time have also been refreshed today," Mr Gehlot pointed out.

In further encouraging signs for the Congress, senior leaders from both the Pilot and Gehlot camps attended the event.

Former Rajasthan minister and close Sachin Pilot aide Hemaram Chaudhary said the thaw gives the party hope. 

"It is a good thing if Sachin and Gehlot come together. We can win the next election with the two fighting together," Mr Chaudhary said. 

Chequered History

The Congress colleagues have been political rivals ever since Mr Gehlot was appointed the chief minister after the party's victory in 2018. This was despite Mr Pilot, as Congress president, being seen as having revived the party in Rajasthan after a rout in the 2013 Assembly elections. 

The younger leader then had to settle for the deputy chief minister's post. 

While tensions had been simmering, matters came to a head when Mr Pilot opened a front against Mr Gehlot's style of leadership in 2020. There have been two factions in the party ever since, but the acrimony has ebbed and flowed.

The first major signs of a thaw were seen on Saturday, when Mr Pilot went to Mr Gehlot's residence and invited him to attend the event in honour of Rajesh Pilot. Both leaders had posted photos and videos of the meeting on social media.