To Avoid Factionalism, Congress Includes Pilot and Gehlot in its Rajasthan Party Committee

New Delhi: Congress released its list of coordination committee members for Rajasthan, which goes to polls later this year, on Thursday.

The list which contains names of both Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot can be seen as an attempt to end factionalism that has beset the party in Rajasthan for a long time now.

Among the other Congress functionaries that will manage party's elections in the state are party general secretary CP Joshi, former CM of the state Jagannath Pahadiya and former governor Kamla Beniwal.

Through the inclusion of both Pilot, who recently spearheaded Congress' 3-0 victory in Rajasthan bypolls, and Gehlot, former Rajasthan CM who brought his party to sniffing distance of power in Gujarat, the party president Rahul Gandhi may be seen to be bringing both experience and youth together and try to bridge factionalism in the party.

That the tension between Pilot and Gehlot hadn't ended was evident by the reaction of Gehlot to press reports that indicated Pilot being chosen as the party's candidate for CM's chair.

Gehlot had told media, while taking a dig at the young Congress leader, that "state party chiefs should focus on strengthening the party, rather than thinking of becoming the chief minister".