Sachin Pilot (born 7 September 1977) is an Indian politician of the Indian National Congress from Rajasthan. The son of the late Congress leader Rajesh Pilot, he was elected to the Lok Sabha at 26, then the youngest member of the House, and became a Union minister at 31. He led the party to victory in Rajasthan in 2018 and served as Deputy Chief Minister until a public falling-out with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot in 2020.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Sachin Rajesh Pilot |
| Born | 7 September 1977, Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Age | 49 |
| Party | Indian National Congress |
| Offices | Deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan (2018–2020); Union Minister of State for Communications and IT (2009–2012) and Corporate Affairs (2012–2014) |
| Constituency | Tonk (Rajasthan assembly, since 2018) |
| Education | Air Force Bal Bharati School; St. Stephen’s College, Delhi; Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania (MBA) |
| Children | 2 sons |
Early Life
Pilot is the son of Rajesh Pilot, an Indian Air Force pilot turned Congress minister, and Rama Pilot, who also became an MP. He studied English literature at St. Stephen’s College, worked at the BBC’s Delhi bureau and at General Motors, and took an MBA at Wharton. His father died in a road accident in June 2000.
Political Career
He won Dausa, his father’s old seat, in 2004 and Ajmer in 2009. In Manmohan Singh‘s second government he was Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology and later held independent charge of Corporate Affairs. He lost Ajmer in the 2014 BJP wave.
Appointed president of the Rajasthan Congress in January 2014 after the party had been reduced to 21 seats, he spent five years rebuilding it. The Congress won the December 2018 election, but the party chose the veteran Ashok Gehlot as Chief Minister and made Pilot his deputy. In July 2020 Pilot and eighteen legislators camped in Haryana in a revolt against Gehlot. He was removed as Deputy Chief Minister and state party chief, then reconciled with the leadership a month later. He remained at odds with Gehlot until the party lost the state in 2023. He kept his Tonk seat and is a general secretary of the party.
Other Interests
In 2012 Pilot was commissioned as a lieutenant in the Territorial Army, the first serving Union minister to join it. He holds a private pilot’s licence and has represented Delhi in shooting.
Personal Life
In 2004 he married Sara Abdullah, daughter of Farooq Abdullah and sister of Omar Abdullah. They have two sons. His 2023 election affidavit stated that they are divorced.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Sachin Pilot born?
Sachin Pilot was born on 7 September 1977 in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India and is 49 years old.
Featured image: Sachin Pilot, then Minister of State for Communications and Information Technology, speaks at the World IT Forum, New Delhi, 17 April 2012. Photo by Ministry of Communications, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
