Regional woes continue to dog Cong

Good days are certainly not ahead for the Congress, which is facing severe infighting in at least four States.

While fire-fighting on all fronts, the party is hard-pressed to explain that the troubles have stemmed out of the personal issues and ambitions of certain provincial leaders.

The high command is holding discussions with all stakeholders to avoid the ominous spectre of open dissension in Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra and West Bengal.

In Maharashtra, senior leader Narayan Rane submitted his resignation from the Prithviraj Chavan Cabinet on Monday.

Rane has been critical of Chavan for some time and, after the Lok Sabha elections, he has been demanding the Chief Minister’s chair. His claim was that the Congress had offered him the chair when he resigned from the Shiv Sena to join the grand old party.

The high command has taken a position that there is no meaning in changing the guard in Maharashtra just a couple of months ahead of the Assembly elections.

The party, apparently, is waiting for the AK Antony commission’s report on the Lok Sabha debacle. The panel is supposed to suggest some measures to reenergise the organisation ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections in States like Haryana and Maharashtra.

In Assam, Himanta Biswas Sarma, once a confidant of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, resigned from the Cabinet on Monday. He claims the support of 38 MLAs.

There were reports that the dissident Congress leaders are in touch with Opposition parties to form a Government in the State, unseating Gogoi.

The Congress leadership had held discussions with all MLAs and MPs from the State. Senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary CP Joshi have been taking stock of the situation.

The high command has been hinting that there will be a decision soon after the ongoing Budget Session of Parliament.

The Congress said that in both Assam and Maharashtra, none of the warring members have left the party.

Party spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said the issues of leaders in Assam and Maharashtra are personal. “They are ambitious. They have personal issues with the Chief Ministers. They have not resigned from the Congress. The party has nothing to add more,” he said.

In Haryana, Rajya Sabha member and senior leader Birender Singh has demanded a change of leadership.

Addressing a rally in Panchkula, he said it is time to infuse new blood in the party leadership. In West Bengal, three Congress MLAs have joined the ruling Trinamool Congress. The Antony panel had completed the process of meeting the leaders of all States in order to assess the reasons for the massive defeat.

The high command is waiting for the report to announce the dates for organisational elections in the party.

Some party members have been critical of the practices started by the Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi for selecting candidates.