Just to side-lined a senior Congress leader, state president Nirmal Khatri, reportedly made another experiment by creating four posts of City Congress unit in the state capital. Interestingly, just due to pressure mounted by the said leader, earlier also Khatri made two chiefs – president and working president- in the City Congress unit in lucknow and later when he revamped all the units just before last bi-elections for the State Assembly, Khatri was reportedly forced not to announce the name of city Congress chief just as the above leader was not happy with the selection.
Sources in the Party confirmed that a senior Congress leader who iseven a sitting MlA is using the clout in the Party to maintain hold over the City Congress unit in lucknow. Earlier, the person, who belong to the said leader’s camp enjoyed being president of the City Congress. When Nirmal Khatri constituted his committee after he became president, he tried to rope in the leader close to him as City president but sources maintained that the said leader managed to put pressure, thus to avoid confrontation, Khatri went ahead with posting of two city chiefs –one president and other working president, in City Congress.
Sources further confirmed that when this Committee along with otherdistrict and city units has been disbanded in the State and new one was formed, Khatri selected the person which is not in the camp of above leader as City Congress president. learning of the move, the said leader again used the Veto and raised objection, following which Khatri held the announcement of the name of the person chosen to City Congress president.
Sources revealed that after finding that the said leader is coming inway of selecting the City president of his choice, Khatri made a noble move along with Secretary of All India Congress Committee, Prakash Joshi, who is incharge of lucknow and entrusted to select City President. To cut down the size of this above leader, both Khatri and Joshi had reportedly mooted an idea of dividing the City into four units and posting four persons as City Presidents, giving them charges of over two dozen `Wards’(jurisdiction of a Corporator).
It may be mentioned that lucknow had 110 Wards so every Congress city president would look around 27 wards each. Sources said that through this idea, the said leader’s hold will be now confined in just about two dozen wards. The announcement of this formula is likely to be announced by Khatri very soon.