Senior Congress leader and former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot on October 31, Tuesday filed his nomination for the upcoming state polls from the Tonk assembly constituency. The poll affidavit of the Congress leader revealed that after over 20 years of marriage, Sara Abdullah and Congress leader Sachin Pilot have parted ways.
Sachin Pilot files nomination from Tonk, reveals divorce in affidavit!
— The Jaipur Dialogues (@JaipurDialogues) October 31, 2023
This is the first time that Sachin Pilot has disclosed his separation from Sara Abdullah who is the daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah. pic.twitter.com/A8h2nh1ZsS
This came to the fore after Pilot, in his electoral affidavit for the upcoming Rajasthan polls wrote ‘divorced’ in the column seeking the spouse’s data. In his affidavit, Pilot also mentioned that both his sons are his dependents.
This is the first time that the Congress leader has openly declared his split from Sara Abdullah.
Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah Pilot got married in 2004. Sara Abdullah is the daughter of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister and National Conference (NC) chief and the sister of former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdullah. Sachin Pilot and Sara Abdullah have two sons, Aaran and Vehaan.
The duo had met each other while pursuing higher education at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. After dating each other, the two decided to tie the knot in 2004 despite constant objections from Sara’s side of the family.
Sara Abdullah had a rough time convincing her family to marry ‘Hindu’ boy Sachin Pilot
Sara’s father Farooq Abdullah, brother Omar Abdullah and the rest of the clan boycotted their private Delhi wedding in 2004, because of inter-religious politics. Incidentally, Omar Abdullah himself married a Sikh girl; but objected to his sister marrying a Hindu boy.
Concerned with the possibility of facing the wrath of the community on the issue of a Muslim girl marrying a Hindu boy, Sara’s family opposed their marriage. Abdullah’s party members issued a statement stating that “only Muslim men can marry outside their religion but a Muslim girl can only marry a Muslim.”
It was reported how a campaign on Sara marrying a ‘kafir’ begun in the Kashmir valley. There were speculations then that the family had disowned their daughter for being hellbent on marrying a Hindu boy. No member of either family had come forward to speak to media persons then.
Sara Pilot had once opened up about the rough times on Simi Gariwal’s chat show.
Wealth doubled in 5 years: Poll affidavit of Congress leader Sachin Pilot reveals
Meanwhile, the election affidavit also revealed that Sachin Pilot’s wealth has almost doubled in five years. While in the affidavit of 2018, Sachin had declared his assets as Rs 3.8 crores, this year i.e. in 2023, it has increased to around Rs 7.5 crores.
The Rajasthan Assembly election will be held on November 25. The results will be announced on December 3.
