As the political pot boils in election-bound Rajasthan, former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot is finalising the contours of his own regional outfit which will be launched on June 11 – his father Rajesh Pilot’s death anniversary. Pilot is likely to name his political party Pragatisheel Congress.

According to sources, Pilot, who has consistently raised the banner of revolt against party veteran and Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot, is gearing up for a formal launch on Sunday. Before the launch of his Pragatisheel Congress, Pilot has been on a temple run to seek blessings. On Monday, he was in Jabalpur with Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha. Despite repeated attempts, Pilot could not be contacted. Sources close to Pilot told ET that the former deputy chief minister is likely to hold a rally in Jaipur and make an announcement.

The most keenly watched political development of Pilot walking out of the Congress will be how many MLAs will walk out and if at all this could effect the stability of the Gehlot government. Unlike July 2020 when Pilot openly rebelled and claimed the top post, the former deputy chief minister has been keeping his cards close to the chest and avoiding all press interviews. In 2020, Pilot had claimed the support of at least 30 MLAs and had threatened to walk out of the party only to be outmanoeuvred by Gehlot. The wily chief minister had persuaded MLAs supporting Pilot to switch sides and had gone onto win the floor test after the intervention of the central leadership. Gehlot government had the support of 125 MLAs in the 200-member House and had won with a voice vote. At the end of the political crisis, Pilot had the support of 19 MLAs. The rebellion had left Pilot without the deputy chief ministership and the post of state Congress president.

The election year, however, is different. The party high command has not offered any fig leaf to Pilot, who is growing restless with status quo. On April 11, he had gone on a day-long fast against the alleged corruption during Vasundhara Raje-led government and Gehlot’s inaction. He also demanded that a probe be launched against former IPL commissioner, Lalit Modi, who has been accused of financial irregularities, including money laundering and tax evasion.

Exactly a month later on May 11, he embarked on a 125-km padyatra from Ajmer to Jaipur to highlight corruption issues and paper leaks in the state. He gave a 15-day deadline to Gehlot government to move on the corruption cases against Raje or he would launch state-wide protests.