Sachin Pilot had contested from Tonk in the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections
Jaipur:
Former deputy chief minister of Rajasthan Sachin Pilot on Tuesday filed his nomination for the upcoming state polls from the Tonk assembly constituency and asserted that there is no discord within the party and everyone is working together.
Asked about the Congress’s chief ministerial face, Mr Pilot said the party has a tradition of not declaring one before elections and it will be decided by the high command after the party wins.
Before filing his nomination papers, Pilot offered prayers at the Bhuteshwar Mahadev temple. He later took out a procession with his supporters from Bada Kuan to Patel Chowk in Tonk city.
Asked about the differences between some Congress leaders, Pilot told reporters, “We have no discord, no difference of opinion and no factions. All of us are part of the group of Sonia Gandhi ji, Mallikarjun Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji.” “We are all working together and trying to make every party candidate win. I have been told by Rahul ji and Kharge ji to forgive, forget and move forward,” he added.
Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot have had a long-running power tussle between them.
Replying to a question on who will be the Congress’ chief ministerial face, Pilot said, “The party does not have a tradition of declaring a chief ministerial candidate. MLAs and the party leadership decide who will lead after winning the elections. Right now, we are all busy trying to make the party win.”
On the recent ED raids in Rajasthan, the Tonk MLA said the BJP is misusing central investigation agencies as it is afraid that it will be defeated in the elections.
“You are taking action after the Model Code of Conduct has been imposed. The ED takes action and the BJP responds.
“The ED has not issued any statement till date. No explanation or documentation has been given. This is just to create an atmosphere because the BJP is afraid of losing elections. Hence, agencies are being misused all over the country,” Pilot said.
“This has become a common thing now. Congress workers and leaders are not afraid of these things. They will fight the elections together, ensure a majority for the party and form the government,” he said.
On October 26, the ED raided the premises of Dotasra in Jaipur and Sikar as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged exam paper leak case and summoned Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s son and Rajasthan Cricket Association (RCA) president Vaibhav Gehlot in a foreign exchange violation case.
The BJP is yet to announce a candidate against Mr Pilot. The last date for filing nominations is November 6.
Mr Pilot had contested from Tonk in the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly elections and won by a margin of over 54,000 votes against the BJP’s Yoonus Khan.
Polling for the 200-member Rajasthan Assembly will be held on November 25 and votes will be counted on December 3.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
