Hours after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said in New Delhi that there were no differences within the Congress on tickets for the Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday affirmed that there was a “lot of affection” between him and Mr. Gehlot. “It is reflected in the way the tickets are being allocated to the candidates,” he said.
Mr. Pilot was in Dausa district’s Sikrai to look after the arrangements for AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s rally scheduled for Friday. He told journalists that the tickets would be distributed on the basis of winnability of the candidates, to whom he had extended his full support.
“I have welcomed with an open mind the proposal for giving tickets even to those who face the charges of indiscipline in connection with last year’s incident of defiance of the high command’s directive to hold a CLP meeting in Jaipur,” Mr. Pilot said. This was a proof of affection which had set an example and troubled the Opposition BJP, he added.
Asked about Mr. Gehlot’s remarks on the Chief Minister’s post, the former Deputy Chief Minister said the MLAs and the party’s top leadership would together take a decision on the Chief Minister’s appointment after the victory in the Assembly polls. “This has been a tradition in the Congress for selection of the Chief Minister. It was followed in the States where the party won in 2018 and it will be followed in 2023 as well,” Mr. Pilot said.
