Jaipur: A day after he was sacked by the Congress for instigating a rebellion within the party, Sachin Pilot has doused rumours of him veering to the right-wing.
“I have worked very hard to bring Congress back in government in Rajasthan. I will not join BJP,” Pilot said in an interview to reporters on Wednesday.
The statement came hours after BJP leader Gajendra Singh Shekhawat told reporters that his party's doors are open to anyone who express trust in its ideology.
“If anybody joins us, we will welcome him with open arms,” Shekhawat told reporters.
Earlier, sources close to Pilot had revealed that the former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and state Congress President is unlikely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Sources also added that the upheaval in Rajasthan politics began on account of Congress leadership's failure to find a middle ground between the Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot.
When a resolution seemed impossible, Pilot and his supporters threatened to break off from the party in an effort to end 'Gehlot's slavery'. For his actions, Pilot was removed by the Congress from the posts of Deputy Chief Minister and Pradesh Congress Committee president.
The party also cracked the whip on his loyalists Vishvendra Singh and Ramesh Meena from the state cabinet.
Soon after Pilot was removed, Rajasthan NSUI president Abhimanyu Poonia on Tuesday also tendered his resignation.
Poonia said that around 400-500 members holding certain posts in the Youth Congress, National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and Seva Dal have resigned to protest against the development.
Over 50 Congressmen have also resigned in Tonk, Pilot's home constituency in Rajasthan to protest against his sacking. District Congress President of Pali Chunnilal Chadwas has also resigned from the party.
Meanwhile, protests were staged in many pockets of Gujjar-dominated areas as Pilot is a favourite of the community. A high alert has been sounded in Gujjar-dominated areas in Dausa, Ajmer, Tonk, Sawai Madhopur and Bharatpur to avert any untoward incident.