Former Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot’s visit to the Hadoti region in south-eastern Rajasthan on Monday drew huge crowds of Congress workers, who gave a rousing welcome to him, in a show of strength amid the standoff in the ruling party. Mr. Pilot also visited his Assembly constituency, Tonk, on Tuesday on his way back to Jaipur.
Mr. Pilot reached Kota by train on Monday afternoon and headed to Jhalawar, the home turf of BJP leader and former Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, where he attended a programme to felicitate meritorious students of Aheer Yadav community. None of the Congress MLAs or Ministers from the region accompanied Mr. Pilot during his tour.
Addressing the gathering, Mr. Pilot attacked the BJP government at the Centre and accused the top BJP leadership of creating a rift among the people. “The BJP’s rhetoric will not last long... The key to power is in the hands of the people,” Mr. Pilot said, while drawing people’s attention to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, which he said was getting an overwhelming support.
