Rajasthan's ex-deputy CM Sachin Pilot turns 43, loyalists to showcase his popularity

JAIPUR: Former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot will turn 43 on Monday, but his supporters and well-wishers will not be able to congregate at his residence or the party headquarters here like they had been doing every year.
Owing to the spread of the contagious coronavirus in the state, Pilot has appealed to people to stay where they are and, instead, try to donate blood for the needy in these difficult times.
Turning it into an opportunity, Pilot loyalists have decided to create a record in blood donation by setting a target for themselves to collect as many thousands of blood units as his age — that is 43,000 units. In Jaipur, blood donations began a day in advance with at least five camps being organised here on Sunday.
“I have appealed to everyone to not congregate in Jaipur in order to wish or greet me on my birthday on September 7. The health and safety of the people is of paramount importance and we all have to follow the protocol and guidelines issued by the authorities,” Pilot said in a statement on the eve of his birthday.
The blood donation exercise, at the same time, is being seen in the political circles as a show of strength by the Pilot camp that has been openly at loggerheads with chief minister Ashok Gehlot for the past two months. By organising blood donations in every nook and corner of the state, the Pilot camp intends to establish the extensive popularity of their leader.
Hoardings and posters with big pictures of Pilot had already been put across the state by party leaders and workers inviting people to participate in the blood donation camps. The social media platforms, too, were aptly used to send across the message that the birthday was an occasion to do more than just a public service.
The blood donation camps would be organised in all 200 assembly constituencies of the state on Monday. The next day, newly appointed AICC general secretary in-charge Ajay Maken would be returning to the state for the party cadres’ feedback exercise that had to be aborted last week due to the demise of former President Pranab Mukherjee. Maken is part of the three-member AICC panel that the Congress central leadership formed last month to consider issues raised by Pilot when he revolted against Gehlot’s leadership.
With loyalties among the state Congressmen divided like never before, Pilot’s birthday celebrations have come as an opportunity for the Gehlot camp, too, to identify the former’s loyalists that remained unnoticed during the rebellion in July-August. The Gehlot camp would be keenly following the blood donation organisers in every block of the state. The tussle between the two camps could further intensify in the coming days, said party sources.