Rajasthan: A panel to look into Sachin Pilot's grievances is a key takeaway from the talks (File)
Sachin Pilot met with the Gandhis today for the first time since he launched his revolt a month ago, as the Congress claimed a "breakthrough" in untangling the crisis that pushed its Rajasthan government led by Ashok Gehlot to the razor's edge. Congress sources say the meeting took place at Rahul Gandhi's home.
A party panel to look into Sachin Pilot's grievances is a key takeaway from the talks, say sources, adding that the Gandhis agreed to address issues regarding Rajasthan, including Ashok Gehlot's style of functioning. Mr Pilot is also likely to get back his two posts in Rajasthan - that of Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress chief - as part of the "ghar-wapsi" formula.
The talks, which lasted for about two hours, was described as "a meeting of minds" by team Pilot.
Mr Pilot has reportedly been in touch with the Congress leadership over the past few days and the channel was kept open by the Gandhis, more proactive. This is the opposite of how things went down when Jyotiraditya Scindia quit the Congress in March, taking down the Madhya Pradesh government.
Sources say to enable the turnaround, Priyanka Gandhi and Sachin Pilot met two weeks back "at a common place in NCR (National Capital Region)", after which talks were reportedly held at various levels.
Priyanka Gandhi's previous attempts at mollifying Mr Pilot had not delivered results; last month, she reportedly offered to have him meet Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi - her mother and brother - but the rebel allegedly refused to even consider any meeting unless Ashok Gehlot was removed. In a sharp war of words that erupted after the talks were reported in the media, Team Priyanka claimed he had refused to settle for anything less than being named Chief Minister.
Reports of a possible rapprochement have emerged just four days before a special session of the Rajasthan assembly, where Ashok Gehlot is likely to push for a trust vote to prove his majority and outmanoeuvre Mr Pilot and the 18 more rebel MLAs, whom he accuses of collaborating with the BJP to topple his government.
Mr Gehlot has been firmly against any outreach to the rebels, mainly Mr Pilot. The Chief Minister has launched multiple and sharp attacks on his 42-year-old sacked deputy, accusing him of plotting a coup with the BJP.
Mr Pilot has rubbished the allegation and asserted that he has no plans to join the BJP. Last month, his strained relationship with Mr Gehlot hit rock-bottom when he was summoned by the Special Operations Group that reports to the Chief Minister to answer questions on MLAs allegedly being bribed to turn their backs on the Congress and the Chief Minister.
In the latest attempts at peace-making, the Congress leadership in Delhi may face a push-back from Rajasthan, where Congress MLAs hit out at Team Pilot's "betrayal" in a meeting last night.
A Congress Legislature Party meeting was held at a hotel in Jaisalmer where Mr Gehlot is guarding his flock after the Governor agreed to an assembly session from August 14.
The 19 rebels should not be allowed any homecoming, the Congress MLAs reportedly said.
Mr Gehlot asked the party legislators to show their unity on the floor of the House. "We are all democracy warriors. We are going to win this war and also win the (assembly) election after three-and-a-half years," he said, addressing the MLAs.
