Two years ago when I was writing my book The Contenders, on GenNext politicians, I interviewed Sachin Pilot for the chapter on him. Interestingly, he revealed a funny quirk about himself and said that even when he watches a movie, he researches it first to figure out if it’s worth watching and only then commits three hours of his life to it. (He also added that he still prefers going to a movie hall because he doesn’t want to miss out on the popcorn but that’s a side story.) The main question really is that if he spends so much time researching what his next couple of hours will be like, then wouldn’t he then have done his homework before going in for a confrontation with the Congress? Or was he pushed to the wall and acted in a fit of rage? But my reading of Pilot is that he is not one who acts on without a Plan A, B and C.
Clearly Plan A was to ensure he gets a better deal within the Congress. He had been sidelined by his senior colleague and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, from omitting his picture on party posters to raising charges of sedition against him. Gehlot had also raised the one man, one post issue asking Sachin should step down as leader of the Pradesh Congress. Sachin retorted that the decision was not Gehlot’s to make but Sonia Gandhi would decide.
The last blow was the sedition charge. There had been reports of Sachin reaching out to the BJP (encouraged by both Gehlot and the BJP) but Sachin had always denied these. I managed to speak to him on the night of 12 July, amidst speculation that he would be crossing over to the saffron side the next day. When I asked Sachin if he would be joining the BJP, he parried with a “Where are all these stories coming from?” And immediately denied any plans of joining the BJP. Since then, Sachin has told whomsoever’s phone he has answered that he is not joining the BJP.
If the BJP is not his Plan B, then one can assume he plans to float his own party. It won’t be easy for Sachin to do a Jaganmohan Reddy as unlike Andhra, Rajasthan is a two-party state with little scope for a Third Front except as a spoiler. Or a Kingmaker. But it allows Sachin to recoup, test his mettle and his options. Vasundharaje (who incidentally enjoys a good equation with Gehlot) will not make it easy for him to join the BJP. Sachin’s best bet then is to stay on this side of the “secular” divide, float his regional party that could do business with the Congress at a later date. And in a post-Gehlot scenario perhaps even find his way back to the party, for he has not severed his ties with the Gandhi GenNext. Unlike Scindia, Sachin has answered their phone calls and explained his case to them. Sources close to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra even claim that she is sympathetic to his case and has pointed out that it was the GehlotSachin duo that won the party in the Assembly, and not Gehlot alone. For don’t forget in the following Lok Sabha, as a sitting CM, Gehlot could not get his son elected.
But in the end, with Sachin’s exit the Congress has scored a self goal.