Shashi Tharoor's "Small Factions" Remark Amid Sachin Pilot vs Ashok Gehlot

Recently, Ashok Gehlot was purportedly heard saying in a recent viral video clip that a "big Corona" has entered Congress after the pandemic.

Amid fresh saber-rattling between the Congress' top two lieutenants in Rajasthan -- Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his former deputy Sachin Pilot, the party's Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday sought to play down the feud saying while factionalism exists in every political party, leaders come together when it comes to pursuing a common and collective cause.

Speaking at an interactive session at the ongoing Jaipur Literature Festival on Saturday, Mr Tharoor said, "Are there any monolithic parties in India? Is there only one opinion inside BJP on every subject and every person? In a democracy, two people can have differences of opinion, but if you share the same ideology and are fighting for the same cause, then what the party says goes."

The fresh spell of acrimony between Mr Gehlot and Mr Pilot, who had a public falling out till the high command brokered a truce last year, has brought back fears of disunity in the Rajasthan Congress in an election year. The state is scheduled to go to polls towards the close of this year.

On whether factionalism will affect the party's electoral prospects where it is in power, the MP from Thiruvananthapuram said, "This factionalism and infighting is the reality of every party. Small factions happen between leaders but the larger point is all of us are against the BJP. These are very small things in comparison with the larger issues at stake."