Sachin Pilot’s support base is rapidly dwindling due to inability to stand against Congress
GG News Bureau
Jaipur, 8th September. Sachin Pilot is a young and promising leader from Rajasthan who rebelled against the Congress party before returning to his old school. He was able to gain public support from a diverse range of communities as a political leader. However, he had to taste the setback of his shortcomings. His supporter base is rapidly dwindling as a result of his inability to stand up to Congress.
Sachin Pilot- the man who guided Congress to victory
According to party supporters, the Congress camp is looking to retain the Gujjar community’s support that it had previously with Sachin Pilot. The community supported Congress during the 2018 Assembly elections, when he served as the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee President.
In a recent address to the Gujjar community, Pilot loyalist leader Ved Prakash Solanki stated that he was not with any party but with Sachin Pilot. He also stated that Congress won the elections because of Sachin Pilot’s supporters.
“Has there been another such jati in Rajasthan that completely decimated the BJP?” Solanki, the Congress MLA from Chaksu, asked. Not a single MLA of the BJP in Gujjar-dominated seats was elected! I’d like to thank Gujjar BJP workers who closed their eyes completely. They may have voted for themselves, but every member of their family voted for the hand symbol (Congress).”
Overall, Sachin Pilot restructured the entire Congress party’s leadership. He was the true winner of the 2018 elections because he connected with voters on the ground. As a result, he became a popular face of the Congress Party among the people of Rajasthan.
The betrayal of the people of Rajasthan
During the 2018 state elections, the Congress party ran Sachin Pilot as its candidate, which proved to be a successful strategy. However, this political strategy resulted in a betrayal of Rajasthan voters, who had expected Pilot to be their leader.
On the one hand, with the BJP’s Vasundhra Raje facing incompetence in Rajasthan with slogans like “Modi tujhse bair nahi par Rani Teri khair nahi,” Congress had an opportunity to win not just votes but hearts as well. In contrast, Sachin Pilot, the popular leader, attempted to retaliate against the party’s high command. He had the opportunity to emulate Eknath Shinde, but lacked the courage to do so.
As a result of Sachin Pilot’s inability to meet his supporters’ expectations, his vote bank shrank from leader of all too just a Gujjar leader.
After his failed attempt to assert his power, he has been demoted to second fiddle to CM Ashok Gehlot, whose stature is only rising in the eyes of the Congress high command. This has not gone down well with voters, who feel cheated and are keeping a strategic distance from Pilot’s camp.
The pilot camp is currently mobilizing the Gujjar support base. This could be related to Pilot’s ambition to be the face of Congress in 2023.
Understanding Pilot’s outreach to the ‘Gujjars’
The birthday of Congress leader Sachin Pilot was recently celebrated in Jaipur. The celebration was seen as a show of strength amid the chorus of his supporters calling for him to be the next Chief Minister of Rajasthan.
In the midst of preparations for the upcoming Rajasthan assembly elections, senior leaders of the ruling Congress party, including former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot, are reaching out to the Gujjar community to which Pilot belongs.
Supporters of Sachin Pilot have attempted to remind the Gujjars of Pilot’s contributions to their development. Indraj Gurjar, MLA for Viratnagar, stated, “If anyone put our community on the map, it was the late Rajesh Pilot.” Sachin Pilot, our young leader, is following in his father’s footsteps. He went on to compare Pilot to God, saying, “After Lord Devnarayan, our deity, if this community worships anyone, it is Rajesh Pilot.”
Sachin Pilot’s declining popularity
The Gujjar community in Rajasthan has a sizable voting bloc. According to a BJP Gujjar leader, the community accounts for approximately 7 to 8% of the state’s population, making it influential in approximately 50 Assembly and 7 Lok Sabha constituencies. Sachin Pilot is clearly a popular politician in the state, particularly among the two dominant castes, the Gurjars and the Meenas. He is known for calming the tensions between the two castes. He bridged the gap between the two communities, bringing them into the fold of Congress. This aided the party’s election victory, as the grand old party won 43 of 49 seats in Eastern Rajasthan, where these two groups are dominant.
Aside from that, as a well-liked Congress leader, Pilot commanded nearly the entire vote bank of Rajasthan. His supporters dubbed him “chattis kaum ka Neta,” or “all-community representative.” However, he was unable to withstand the people who trusted him and expected him to be Rajasthan’s Chief Minister. Now, his supporters are attempting to woo the Gurjars by rallying the community behind Pilot. But why is it that the leader of all communities, who led Congress to a historic victory in 2018, is now focusing on a single community rather than the entire state?
With all of this going on, and considering the anti-incumbency against Ashok Gehlot, Congress will not have an easy cat walk this time.
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