Pilot out, Gehlot in as star campaigner for Karnataka Assembly polls

At a time when most senior leaders of the Congress, including Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have been named as star campaigners of the party for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka, the omission of former Rajasthan Deputy CM Sachin Pilot's name from the list has raised many eyebrows.

However, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, along with Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel and Himachal Pradesh CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, have found their place in the star campaigners' list for the polls.

Many questions are doing the rounds in the political corridors of Rajasthan, especially after Pilot skipped two key events of the party in the state -- the one-on-one feedback session with the party's Rajasthan in-charge Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and the Congress Sammelan held in Jaipur on Wednesday.

The political rivalry between Gehlot and Pilot is an open secret ever since the formation of the Congress government in Rajasthan in 2018, with both engaging in frequent war of words.

Gehlot and Pilot have been locked in a leadership tussle and haven't seen eye-to-eye on a range of issues. Gehlot has even termed Pilot as 'Nikamma' (worthless), 'Nakara' (useless) and 'Gaddar' (traitor).

Meanwhile, Pilot recently staged a one-day fast demanding the Gehlot government to fulfil its promise made to the people that action will be taken against the corrupt practices of the previous BJP government in the state led by Vasundhara Raje. - IANS