Underlining the rift within Madhya Pradesh Congress, disgruntled party MLA Arif Aqueel today claimed that the credit for its success in a recent Lok Sabha bypoll went to the candidate, Kantilal Bhuria, "as only he worked hard to ensure BJP's defeat".
The winning candidate, former Union Minister Kantilal Bhuria, however, said that his triumph in the Ratlam-Jhabua bypoll was due to the entire Congress party and its team.
Hailing Bhuria for clinching the Lok Sabha seat, Aqueel said. "It is a personal victory for Bhuriaji as only he worked hard to ensure BJP's defeat in the by-election."
Speaking at a programme to felicitate Bhuria held at the residence of Congress legislator Jeetu Patwari, he further lauded Bhuria for "toiling hard to achieve success in the bypoll".
However, Bhuria told the gathering that it was the victory of the entire Congress party and its team and also thanked the people of Ratlam-Jhabua for reposing faith in him.
Asked to comment on Aqueel's remark, Bhuria said that "it was his personal view".
Besides Aqueel, a Congress legislator belonging to Jyotiraditya Scinida camp, Mahendra Singh Kalukheda, and party general secretary Digvijaya Singh's son and MLA Jaivardhan Singh were among those present for the function where state Congress unit president Arun Yadav was conspicuous by his absence.
BJP's Nirmala Bhuria lost the prestigious bypoll, held on November 21, to Bhuria by a margin of 88,832 votes.
BJP had in 2014 won the Ratlam-Jhabua seat for the first time, clinching the poll by a margin of 1,08,452 votes.
Aqueel, Congress's lone Muslim MLA in Madhya Pradesh, had recently threatened to resign over the "humiliation" he is facing within the party unit.
Aqueel and another leader, Manak Agarwal, are Digvijaya loyalists who do not reportedly get along with state unit president Yadav, who is believed to belong to the camp of senior Congress leader Scindia.
A five-time MLA and former minister, Aqueel is reportedly disgruntled since he was not considered for the post of vice- president in the recently-constituted state Congress executive committee.
