Scores of angry Congress workers engaged in fist fight and heckled top leaders at the partys state headquarters here, charging them with having sold out the interests of the party while negotiating seat-sharing arrangements and deciding candidates.
AICC in-charge for the state Shaktisinh Gohil and other senior party leaders were mobbed by angry workers at the Sadaqat Ashram where they had gathered to conduct a meeting of the state election committee, with just a week left for casting of votes to begin.
The protesters, most of them supporters of former Aurangabad MP Nikhil Kumar, were livid over the announcement of RLSP chief Upendra Kushwaha that he would seek re-election from his sitting seat of Karakat, besides Ujiyarpur.
The former Aurangabad MPs supporters have been feeling slighted over the seat a stronghold of Nikhil Kumars family whose grandfather was the states first Deputy Chief Minister, father a several term MP and Chief Minister for a brief period and late wife too an MP before he took the plunge going to Jitan Ram Manjhis HAM.
There had been speculations that Kushwaha, who has been given five out of the 40 seats in the states, would be convinced to give up Karakat in favor of Kumar so that the former Delhi Police chief could contest from the seat which borders Aurangabad and where a sizeable population of upper castes and muslims made the Congress prospects look bright.
With Kushwahas announcement, the anger of Congress workers who have been feeling that the party has been shortchanged getting only nine seats to contest though it initially wished to field candidates from 15 spilled out in the open.
Later, addressing a press conference, Gohil with an embarrassed smile said the angry workers are like members of family. We understand their sentiments. But I would appeal to all to give up grievances for the moment and focus on helping the Mahagathbandhan win so that Rahul Gandhi becomes the next Prime Minister.
Congress legislature party leader Sadanand Singh also seemed to share the anguish of the protesters as he remarked, separately, I have already said that injustice has been done to us. But the time for negotiations is over. So we must focus on the task at hand".
The party has also been left red-faced with Kushwaha announcing candidature of Akash Prasad Singh, the Congress state campaign committee chief Akhilesh Prasad Singhs son, as candidate from East Champaran which has evoked allegations from several quarters that it was result of a deal.
When questions were posed to Kushwaha, he snapped Akash is a member of my party and allegations are being levelled by those opposed to us while BPCC president Madan Mohan Jha replied to queries about the development saying we cannot comment about what happens in another party even if it happens to be our ally.
BJP spokesman Nikhil Anand said in a tongue in cheek statement Congress leader Akhilesh Prasad Singh, who was earlier with the RJD, seems to have taken the franchise for the party he is currently associated with as well as the RLSP.
The Congress also faced an embarrassing situation in Supaul Lok Sabha seat, where sitting MP Ranjeet Ranjan is in the fray, as an RJD worker filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate and the local unit asserted that he would withdraw only if the parliamentarians husband Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, sitting MP, withdrew from the contest against RJD nominee Sharad Yadav in Madhepura.
Pappu Yadav, who won in 2014 from Madhepura on an RJD ticket, has entered the fray as a candidate of Jan Adhikar Party he founded upon expulsion from Lalu Prasads party.
Dinesh Yadav is an RJD worker. His action is in keeping with our earlier warning that we will queer the pitch for Ranjan if her husband tries to put hurdles in our way in Madhepura. The ball is now in Pappu Yadavs court, RJD MLA Yaduvansh Yadav, who is also the district unit chief of his party, told PTI over phone.
Meanwhile, RJD heir apparent Tejashwi Yadav dismissed queries about Congress leaders refraining from appearing at rallies of candidates belonging to other constituents of Mahagathbandhan, claiming people used to raise similar doubts in 2015 when Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad held rallies separately. But their alliance won handsomely.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
