Gehlot breaks silence on 2022 Rajasthan crisis, labels MLA revolt a stand against Sachin Pilot

The former Rajasthan chief minister insists the high-stakes political drama in Jaipur was a rejection of his rival, not a challenge to the Congress leadership.

The long-simmering resentment within the Rajasthan Congress has resurfaced, with former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot publicly reframing the chaotic events of September 2022. Speaking to the media in Jaipur, Gehlot argued that the mass boycott by MLAs—which effectively blocked a transition of power—was never a rebellion against the central Congress high command. Instead, he characterized it as a grassroots pushback against the potential elevation of Sachin Pilot.

"If I had rebelled against the high command, would they have kept me as chief minister?" Gehlot asked, pointing to his continued tenure as proof of his loyalty to the party's central authority. The veteran leader maintained that the 90-plus legislators who had threatened to resign were acting on their own convictions, primarily driven by their refusal to accept Pilot as their leader following his role in the 2020 political crisis.

The shadow of the Manesar episode

The crux of Gehlot’s argument lies in the lingering bitterness from the 2020 "Manesar episode," during which Pilot and a group of loyalist MLAs camped in Haryana, nearly toppling the state government. Gehlot suggested that the MLAs who stood against Pilot in 2022 were the same individuals who had helped him save the government during that earlier challenge. To these legislators, Pilot’s potential promotion was a step too far, leading them to prioritize their own political alignment over the party's national transition plan.

Gehlot described the events of September 25, 2022—when party observers arrived in Jaipur to oversee a leadership shift—as a "conspiracy" that left him with a reputation for defiance he never sought. He claimed that the media narrative surrounding the event obscured the reality: that the MLAs were not rebelling against the Congress high command, but were actively campaigning against Pilot, whom they viewed as an internal antagonist.

Why it matters

This public intervention by Gehlot serves as a calculated attempt to rewrite the optics of a damaging chapter in Rajasthan’s political history. By framing himself as a victim of a distorted narrative rather than an architect of defiance, Gehlot is attempting to clear his record with the party’s central leadership. For the Congress, the persistence of this public spat highlights a deep-seated factionalism that continues to hinder state-level cohesion. As both leaders remain central figures in the state unit, their inability to move past the 2020 and 2022 rifts suggests that the battle for the soul of the Rajasthan Congress is far from settled.

Moving forward

Gehlot, who referred to Pilot as someone he still considers "like a child," urged his younger counterpart to acknowledge the mistakes of the past. He suggested that the continued controversy is fueled by a refusal from the other side to accept the political reality of the situation. Whether this latest statement will lead to a reconciliation or further deepen the divide remains to be seen, but it is clear that for the veteran leader, the "Manesar" ghost remains the defining point of contention.