In a meeting of around 18 prominent state leaders and Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi that took place in the national capital on Friday evening, the issue of infighting did not figure in the discussion despite this being the main worrying factor for the party. In Rahul Gandhi’s bungalow, the state leaders were given some ritual teachings and the meeting concluded within 40 minutes with every leader getting just two-three minutes with Rahul Gandhi alone. “You cannot explain anything in two-three minutes. It was a formality,” a senior leader, who met Rahul, said.
The coordination committee meeting, which was attended by Congress treasurer Motilal Vora, state-in-charge B.K. Hariprasad, state president Bhupesh Baghel, leader of opposition T.S. Singhdeo, Rajya Sabha member Chhaya Verma, senior party leaders Satyanarayan Sharma, Rabindra Choubey and Dhanendra Sahu, revolved around the infighting that was taking place in the party.
But the same was not communicated to Rahul Gandhi whom the party leaders met in the evening. “They talked of infighting among themselves, but not before Rahul,” claimed one of the leaders who attended the meeting.
“The problem with the party right now is that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi do not interact with the state leaders. They believe in whatever is conveyed to them by the state in charge,” another senior leader present in the meeting confirmed.
A lot of discontent, as per the state leader, is against the state party president Bhupesh Baghel who, according to party leaders, in acting independently. “It has been more than five months since we were appointed, but he has never called us or met us to ask what is our input,” one of the multiple state party spokespersons said.
According to state party leaders, Baghel’s only aim at this point was how to become the CM of the state, where elections are scheduled next year. “The only thing Bhupesh has done in his three- and-a-half years as the state president is to throw out Jogi on the ground that the latter was damaging the party leaders. However, he too is doing the same thing. His father has been openly asking people to politically finish all the other top leaders so that his son can become the CM. Recently, he invited Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, a Kurmi like him, to do a caste specific rally in the state so that he can have the support of the Kurmi voters. A state president’s first objective should be to strengthen the party, but here he is more focused on strengthening himself by damaging us,” a senior party leader, who was in Delhi for the coordination committee meeting, said.
“No one is telling the truth to Rahul Gandhi as he only listens to Hariprasad and Hariprasad is very close to Baghel. Baghel has already completed the stipulated three-year period as the state president and he has failed to resurrect the party or re-energise the cadre and if things do not change, then there is very little chance that we will win Chhattisgarh, where we have the maximum chance of winning in the current situation,” another senior party leader said.
However, former Union minister Bhakt Charan Das, who is in charge of the party affairs, denied that there was any infighting. “We are working as one team and I can tell you with complete confidence that we will win on at least 55 (out of 90) seats in the next election,” he told this newspaper.
Reports emerging from the meeting suggested that former MP from Odisha, Pradeep Majhi might replace B.K. Hariprasad as the in-charge of Chhattisgarh.