Kesri's dithering costs Congress dear
George Iype and Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi
The Congress leadership's failure to take quick decisions seems to be costing the party dear.
As the Congress dithers over serious issues confronting the party, its rivals seem to be reaping rich dividends.
Dissident Congress leader Mamata Banerjee's rebellion against the party leadership and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham chief Jayalalitha Jayaram's unexpected poll alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party have put the Congress in trouble on the eve of the general election.
Many Congressmen admitted today that Banerjee's revolt has created a rift between party president Sitaram Kesri and the party's power centre, Sonia Gandhi.
Sonia's interest in settling the Banerjee-Kesri dispute has triggered
hopes among Congress Working Committee members like Arjun Singh and Jitendra Prasada that a majority of senior Congress leaders would join the attack against the party president if Sonia gives an indication that she would campaign during the election.
Many believe that, if Sonia decides to lead the poll campaign, Kesri will be left with only a few supporters like Tariq Anwar, Pranab Mukherjee, Madhavaro Scindia and Oscar Fernandes.
Kesri may also face flak for his failure to strike an alliance with the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu. A section of CWC leaders squarely blame Kesri for the fiasco.
They said the party leadership, which has been talking of a grand alliance of secular and regional parties, failed to act in time to rope in Jayalalitha, giving an electoral edge to the BJP in a crucial state like Tamil Nadu.
Kesri's opponents in the CWC, led by Arjun Singh, are expected to criticise him in this regard, when the party's highest decision-making body meets later this week.
Singh, however, felt that the AIADMK-BJP alliance will not make any major impact on the Congress performance in Tamil Nadu.
"The Tamil Nadu experience is an eye-opener. It indicates that the Congress should take some quick decisions,'' he told Rediff On The NeT.
Kesri's opponents in the party also blame senior Congress leader K
Vijayabhaskar Reddy for the disaster. Reddy had met Jayalalitha in Madras as Kesri's emissary to forge an electoral alliance in the state.
Congress sources said Reddy, a one-time Kesri critic, failed to lure
Jayalalitha to the Congress fold.
What is surprising is that R K Dhawan, the party general secretary in charge of Tamil Nadu affairs, was not sent to Madras even once to hold talks with the AIADMK chief.
Refusing to comment on the issue, Dhawan told Rediff On The NeT, "I was not involved in holding talks with the AIADMK leadership. You can ask Reddy about the developments.''
While Reddy was not available for comment, many in the party feel the Congress will be completely isolated in a crucial state like Tamil Nadu which sends 39 members to the Lok Sabha. Kesri's efforts to break the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Tamil Maanila Congress alliance have also failed as TMC leader G K Moopanar refused to play along with the Congress.
Kesri has also been unable to strike regional alliances in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh so far.
In UP, the Bahujan Samaj Party seems unwilling to strike an alliance with the Congress, leaving Kesri and his men in a state of nervous tension.
As for Madhya Pradesh, state Congress leaders refused to have any truck with the BSP. These leaders believe they are better off without any alliance with the BSP which has started making its presence felt in the Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand regions of the state.
The only significant alliance which the Congress appears to have concluded is with former Bihar chief minister and Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Laloo Prasad Yadav.
EARLIER REPORTS:
BJP ties up with AIADMK
DMK-TMC alliance will continue
Kotla meets Jaya
RJD-BSP announce poll tie-up
Laloo vows to ruin JD
Sonia breaks her silence for Mamata
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