Pilot’s right-hand man to detractor, the arc of a Gehlot loyalist’s journey | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
Pratap Singh Khachariyawas was by Sachin Pilot’s side when he made a play for the Rajasthan CM’s chair. Now, the Cabinet minister is one of Ashok Gehlot’s most vocal supporters.
At the time, with exit polls predicting a victory for the Congress, Sachin Pilot was thought to be a front-runner for the CM’s chair. Khachariyawas was counted as Pilot’s right-hand man and an indispensable ally at the time, someone who took the lead in countering leaders from the Gehlot camp.
But the political situation has transformed since then. Gehlot pipped Pilot to the post in the race to be the CM in 2018. The latter had to settle for the deputy CM’s chair and led a short-lived rebellion two years later. This time, the central leadership wanted Pilot to take over from Gehlot as CM had the veteran leader been elected the party’s national president. But the former deputy CM’s dreams and the Congress high command’s wishes ran into opposition from MLAs loyal to Gehlot, among them Pilot’s old ally Khachariyawas who is now the current Cabinet minister for food and civil supplies.
On Sunday, the 53-year-old Khachariyawas was among the most vocal of Gehlot’s supporters. He was among those who skipped a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting convened by the command, held a parallel meeting of MLAs allied with the CM, and later visited Speaker CP Joshi to submit their resignation.
Speaking to the media, Khachariayawas laid into the Pilot camp, saying, “Democracy is about numerical majority and only that person will be the leader who the MLAs are supporting. On one side, there are 100 MLAs, and on the other hand, there are 10-15 MLAs.”
For those who have followed the minister’s political trajectory, this is not surprising. Though his uncle Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was a founding member of the BJP — he also became Rajasthan CM and the Vice-President of India — Khachariyawas has charted his own course in his political journey.
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