Politics
Smooth take-off, but can Pilot navigate Punjab turbulence and land Congress a win?
Unity on Chandigarh streets over Dalit suicide gives Sachin Pilot a symbolic win, but factional feuds, missing CM face, looming polls pose much bigger challenge
The optics were good: A united Congress hitting the streets of Chandigarh to demand justice for a Dalit man who died by suicide after accusing Punjab Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema of intimidation in his “dying declaration”.
The scenes of cohesive combativeness witnessed on Tuesday (September 15) had eluded the Punjab Congress for months. For Sachin Pilot, who was on his first visit to Chandigarh since his appointment as state in-charge 10 days ago, the show of unity by his feuding Punjab Congress colleagues and their emphatic assurance of unitedly moving forward was a feat that seemed inconceivable when his predecessor, Bhupesh Baghel, held the charge.
Test flight passed, now what?
By all accounts, Pilot has passed his first test. Yet, navigating Punjab Congress through its internecine turbulence and landing it past the victory line in the state polls due five months from now, is a challenge he may find more daunting than brokering a day-long truce of warring satraps.
