Kesri confident Pilot poses no challenge

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Congress president Sitaram Kesri is confident that his position is not threatened by Rajesh Pilot's candidature for the party chief's post.

His political secretary Tariq Anwar said most partymen were reconciled to the idea that Kesri will stay Congress chief because "he has spoken to them about the importance of consensus on the matter." Contending that Kesri's re-election as party chief was a mere formality, Anwar said Pilot's challenge meant little.

Pilot has the backing of younger party colleagues like Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, K P Singh Deo and S S Ahluwalia. Pilot challenged Kesri during the Congress Parliamentary Party leadership contest in January, but fell in line once Kesri got the job. His sudden challenge may surprise partymen but may not get him their votes.

A R Antulay also asserted that he would contest the election for the party chief's post, but once Kesri enlisted Sonia Gandhi's support for his candidature, the former Maharashtra chief minister backed off.

Significantly, Congress dissidents have failed to sway Sonia Gandhi after they complained to her that Kesri had rigged the impending organisational elections. She is understood to have extended her support to Kesri, making Pilot's candidature look like a last ditch attempt to tell Rajiv Gandhi's still influential widow that there is much wrong in the Congress.

A party general secretary pointed out that a candidate for the party chief's post has to do a lot of canvassing among Congessmen throughout the country. Kesri has, Pilot hasn't. According to him, Kesri has already ensured that PCC delegates will overwhelmingly vote for him as party chief.

Party officials felt Pilot, given his past experience, would not naively jump into the fray. They felt he too might conduct a whirlwind campaign before the election is held.