Pilot, Gehlot present united face at Iftar

Jaipur, June 5 (IANS) Hours after he blamed his deputy Sachin Pilot for his son's poll defeat from Jodhpur in a TV interview, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Pilot put up a united face during a Roza Iftar organised by the Pradesh Congress Committee here on Tuesday.

In the TV interview, which has become the talk of the town, Gehlot said: "Sachin Pilot said we would win with a huge majority. We have six MLAs and our campaigning has also been fabulous. So Pilot should take responsibility for at least Jodhpur seat."

While Gehlot's remark indicated simmering differences between the two state leaders, the Iftar presented a different picture, with both seen sitting together. The two leaders even shared pictures from the gathering on their Twitter handles.

This was the second Iftaar Gehlot and Pilot attended together. On Monday, they posed together at an event held at the Chief Minister's residence.

However hours later, the TV interview revealed the rifts and when other TV channels went to town with it, the Gehlot tweeted that an some sections of the media were making an unnecessary issue out of the context. He also shared excerpts from the interview on his Twitter handle to prove his point.

A Congress worker told IANS: "They are trying to put up a united face when factional feud is peaking in the party."

Vaibhav Gehlot lost the Jodhpur seat Parliamentary election to BJP's Gajendra Singh Shekhawat by 2.7 lakh votes. Shekhawat is now the Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti.