Even as hosts of leaders and aspirants in the Bharatiya Janata Party and Samajwadi Party have come out in the open questioning the choice of candidates, Congress leaders are demoralised after the truck with Samajwadi Party.
While maintaining stoic silence in the imminent Assembly elections, they have resolved to teach the Congress brass a bitter lesson in the 2019 Parliament polls.
“I have been nursing my constituency for almost a decade hoping to befielded in the Assembly poll. last time, the party fielded turncoat Fakir Siddiqui (who left SP to join the Congress) from lucknow Central and this time, they have left the seat for the SP. Enough is enough. I did not work in the segment to seek vote for another party,” stressed a Congress leader.
“I was very upset with the alliance decision. It was taken by the party brass under the influence of a dozen party MlAs, who sense a certain defeat in case the party went alone. Also poll strategist Prashant Kishore aka PK sees alliance as an only way to revive the Congress,” the leader asserted.
On being asked whether he would leave the outfit or air his resentment for dismissing the wishes of party workers, he said, “leaders like me, who failed to get a chance this time, would sit home quietly this time. In the next Parliament polls, we will show the top brass that a party could not survive until committed workers get their dues.”
“In 2019, we all will teach a lesson to the top leadership of the Congress in UP, who acted more as agents of Samajwadi Party than true Congress leaders,” he charged.
Another Congress leader, who was busy meeting locals to spread his base and contest the lucknow Cantonment seat, said that the alliance had forced him to the political margins.
“last time, I worked my heart out but the ticket was given to Rita Bahuguna in lucknow Cantonment seat. After Joshi left, I was sure to get a Congress ticket. But this time again, the party due to the alliance with SP, has left the seat for Aparna Yadav. This is so unfair and frustrating,” quipped the leader.
Another Congress leader and a former minister also registered his anger over the alliance with SP. ``The momentum which we gained after our CM candidate Sheila Dikshit and state president Raj Babbar led the ‘27 Saal-UP Behal’ Yatras and later by Rahul Gandhi’s `Deoria se Dilli Kisan Yatra’ was very encouraging. I was surprised to see sitting MlAs and top leaders favouring an alliance with SP,” he quipped.
“It is very embarassing to say the least. During our programs we kept on slamming the SP regime for the prevailing ‘Jungle Raj’, and ironicallt they are our ally. Now we have to go to fool the public and seek vote for them. For a true Congreessman, it is unbearable. We will sit at our homes and helplessly watch the garnd old party descicate due to weird decisions of a handful,” the leader said in disgust.