As Sachin Pilot Returns to Congress, Who is the Biggest Winner of the Political Drama?

The Big Story

Sachin Pilot is back in the Congress party fold. Pilot’s short lived rebellion, which took shape on 11 July, concluded with a tweet at 1am on 11 August. In his tweet he thanked Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, as well as Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for “noting & addressing our grievances.” Earlier on Monday, Pilot had met former Congress President Rahul Gandhi and party General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at Rahul's Tughlak Road residence. Soon after the meeting, the Congress party put out a statement saying: “They have had a frank, open and conclusive discussion. Shri Sachin Pilot has committed to working in the interest of the Congress party and the Congress government in Rajasthan.” While Pilot’s short lived rebellion may appear to be a closed chapter in Rajasthan politics, several key questions around Pilot’s return require a deeper probe. Why and how did he return to the Congress? How does one assess Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot’s handling of the political crisis? What role did Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Vadra play? And can one say the BJP’s Rajasthan edition of ‘Operation Kamal’ to topple the Congress government has ended in failure?
The thirty days between Sachin Pilot landing in Delhi from Jaipur with 19 MLAs and his patch up with Congress, witnessed high drama that unfolded with dozens of twists and turns. The Rajasthan assembly speaker, the governor, the high court, the supreme court all became the unwitting cast of a political crisis that kept the state on the brink and nearly toppled its elected government. The only predictable part of the unpredictable twists was MLAs being lodged in 5-star resorts, far away from their elected constituencies. We are joined today by The Quint’s political editor Aditya Menon who will guide us through the political rollercoaster.