Daijiworld Media Network - Jaipur

Jaipur, Sep 18: Long-standing internal fault lines within the Rajasthan Congress have resurfaced, marked by a fresh public war of words between former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and senior party leader Sachin Pilot following the party's performance in the recently concluded urban local body elections.

While the BJP emerged as the largest party in the civic polls, the statewide vote-share contest remained remarkably tight. The BJP secured 35.18 percent of the vote compared to the Congress's 34.24 percent—a narrow gap of just 0.94 percentage points. Following the results, Ashok Gehlot questioned the party’s election strategy, campaign planning, and organisational preparedness. Though he did not explicitly name Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee (RPCC) president Govind Singh Dotasra, his remarks were widely interpreted as a critique of the state leadership's campaign management.

Gehlot argued that the party failed to effectively counter the BJP's aggressive campaign, particularly pointing to the lack of counter-roadshows against those led by Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and other ruling party leaders. He maintained that better campaign planning could have capitalized on the favorable political climate to secure more seats.

In response, Sachin Pilot pushed back, strongly defending the work of the PCC and its state leadership. Pilot praised the grassroots efforts, door-to-door campaigning, and the systematic delegation of responsibilities to local party workers. He also drew attention to the disparity in resources available to the ruling BJP compared to the opposition Congress.

The latest confrontation highlights ongoing tensions regarding party strategy, resource allocation, and organizational control, drawing PCC chief Govind Singh Dotasra—who previously attributed the translation of votes to ward losses partly to controversial delimitation—into the crossfire. With competing narratives emerging over the narrow vote-share gap versus campaign execution, the public feud underscores lingering leadership divisions as the party looks ahead toward the 2028 Rajasthan Assembly elections.