Polls not about personal ambition, Congress is united, says Sachin Pilot
Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot speaks to Chetan Chauhan about his party’s chances in the national elections
Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot speaks to Chetan Chauhan about his party’s chances in the national elections, the Congress campaign, and his rivalry with former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, among other issues. Edited Excerpts

You have travelled to several states. What is your sense from the ground?In 2014, the people voted for the BJP with a lot of hope. In 2019, they voted again sensing the fulfilment of the hope. The BJP promised two crore jobs and I could see palpable anger among the youth over lack of jobs. A large section of the people feel they have been left behind in the growth story. Farmers feel the government has not done enough for them. The divide between the rich and the poor has widened and inequality has risen -- people can see it for themselves. High inflation is pinching the poor and middle-class like never before. The BJP has realised that it has failed on these issues and is therefore bringing emotive issues of religion -- temple versus masjid -- and hate to overcome strong anti-incumbency.
A lot of their campaign is pegged on Prime Minister Narendra Modi having build India’s image globally, much more than what the Congress could do. How do you counter this?I don’t think that the BJP has changed India’s foreign policy, which has remained unilateral for several decades. The ruling party is using the foreign policy for chest-thumping and it shows that the BJP doesn’t have any work to show on the ground. Such chest-thumping is not working in the ground. Our is a vibrant and a large democracy and people are asking what their local MPs have done for them in last 10 years.
The first phase of polling is happening. Some say the Congress campaign has not really picked up. I have travelled to Uttarakhand, Punjab, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Kerala, apart from Rajasthan, and could see lot of enthusiasm among Congress workers. Yes, I agree, my party is facing a resource crunch due to freezing of our accounts and we cannot match the ruling party with money which they have got through electoral bonds. But this cannot stifle the voice of our workers. Congress workers are active in every nook and corner of the country.
The Congress is contesting least number of seats ever. What is your take on that?This shows that we are totally committed to the coalition dharma. In an alliance, there is lot of give and take. The fact remains that the Congress had intent to have a national alliance of like-minded parties and demonstrated a large heart to accommodate the allies. And this accommodative nature is the strength of the INDIA bloc to defeat the BJP this time to save the democratic values and ethos of Indian Constitution.
The BJP is extremely confident of winning more than 400 Lok Sabha seats as opposition seems weak. What you have to say?The BJP is trying to create a falsehood to push back its anti-incumbency. The BJP knows very well that there is strong resentment against their MP’s on ground. Reality is different and I am sure INDIA bloc will form the government on June 4.
The Congress has failed to win even a single seat in Rajasthan in the past two elections. What is your prediction this time?I can see a change in approach of voters this time. Unlike 2014 and 2019, when people voted for Modi, this time, people are asking MPs what they have done for them. People have not been able to see any tangible work done in the double-engine BJP government in the past four months. Last election, we lost some seats with very close margins. I am sure we will better our performance as compared to previous two elections in Rajasthan.
Former Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot had called you “nikamma” and “nikara’ you have history of rivalry with him. People say the Congress the is still divided in Rajasthan. Will you campaign for Ashok Gehlot’s son Vaibhav?I don’t want to speak to what he (Ashok ji) said about me. I have refrained from using derogatory language. Rahul Gandhi ji and (Mallikarjun) Kharge ji asked me to forget and forgive and move ahead. I have done so. This election is not about an individual or any personal ambition but is about the country. We are fighting the election unitedly. I was the Rajasthan party president when we gave Vaibhav Gehlot a ticket to contest from Jodhpur last time but unfortunately could not win. I am sure he will win from Jalore this time. I have been campaigning for party candidates in different parts of the country as per high command’s direction. Where ever any candidate has requested me to campaign, I have gone there.
The BJP won the December assembly elections in Rajasthan convincingly. Will that enable it to push on and so well in these parliamentary elections? To me, the BJP government in the state hasn’t performed at all. No new policy initiatives have been taken and progressive schemes introduced by the Congress government are being scrapped. There is no impact of the BJP-led state government on the voters. There are multiple power centres in the BJP government. People are regretting voting for the new BJP government in Rajasthan.
You are in-charge of Chhattisgarh, where the Congress has never won more than 2 of the 11 Lok Sabha seats. What is your assessment this time?I can tell you with conviction that we will do better than the we will do better than the BJP in Chhattisgarh. And the reason is failure of the incumbent state government (which came to power in December) to fulfil its promises, charges of corruption, and poor governance. We are seeing a double-engine failure in Chhattisgarh. Our strategy in Chhattisgarh is to outperform the BJP.
