The candidature of former Congress MP P.L. Punia as the party’s Rajya Sabha polls candidate from Uttar Pradesh has led to dissent within the State unit with senior leaders accusing the Central leadership of succumbing to ruling Samajwadi Party’s diktats.
The charges of senior U.P. Congress leaders are based on reports that the party has fielded the former bureaucrat after reaching an agreement with the Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav who has assured the Congress of making up for party’s vote deficit and ensure Mr. Punia’s victory in the Rajya Sabha polls scheduled later this month.
The Congress favoured Mr. Punia, who has been the head of the National Commission for Scheduled Castes, over senior party leaders like former Union Ministers Kapil Sibal and Salman Khurshid apart from State unit chief Nirmal Khatri after Mulayam Singh Yadav assured his support to the former bureaucrat. The Congress with 28 MLAs need support of nine more legislators to see Mr. Punia through, to which Mr. Singh has agreed.
While former Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma has urged the party high command to contest independently and strengthen it vote base, Congress’ Banda MLA Vivek Kumar Singh has asserted that such decisions expose the party’s weaknesses and it would hurt its prospects in the Assembly polls scheduled in 2017.
Claiming that the party cadre were unhappy with the move, former Union Minister Beni Prasad Verma said the Congress was forced to take Samajwadi Party’s help to strengthen its position in the Rajya Sabha to counter the ruling BJP. Mr. Verma, a one-time close aide of Mulayam Singh, also said the Congress should not worry about electoral losses and should contest independently in the State.
However, Congress three-time MLA from Gonda Vivek Kumar Singh has written to Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi blaming the central leadership of meekly surrendering to the Samajwadi Party and further sabotaging the party’s prospects in the state. He further went on to state that if the Congress was so keen to have ties with the Samajwadi Party then it should merge with it.
“Such decisions give a wrong signal to the people and this was the main reason that the party is losing its base in UP…When the Congress
workers are fighting for survival in the state, such decisions demoralise them and in future it would be prove to be disastrous for the party,” Mr. Singh added. Notably, this would be second time within a year when the Samajwadi Party would help the Congress to get the Rajya Sabha berth. Last year, senior Congress party leader Pramod Tiwari reached Rajya Sabha with the Samajwadi Party’s support.
