In a major setback to Congress in Chhattisgarh, veteran leader and former Chief Minister Ajit Jogi on Sunday announced to pull out from campaigning for urban bodies polls scheduled for December 29 and 31. “I have already informed Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi about my decision,” said the wheelchair-bound Jogi, while referring to his decision to stay away from party’s crucial poll campaign.
The seasoned politician Jogi has, however, not disclosed reasons for keeping himself out of the entire campaigning but sources said he was upset by Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Bhupesh Baghel and leader of the Opposition TS Singhdeo who dumped all his loyalists who were seeking tickets to contest either for mayor or corporators, nagar palika, nagar panchayat posts.
Jogi’s shocker has stumped the embattled Congress in Chhattisgarh where party is out of power since late 2003. Political experts say that Jogi’s latest decision would further stoke up factionalism in party and can dent party’s poll prospects severely. Baghel has downplayed the matter and termed it a ‘non-serious’ issue while Singhdeo described it ‘a personal decision of Jogi’.
Though Singhdeo confirmed Jogi’s name in the list of party’s star campaigners and asserted his (Jogi) presence would have definitely helped the party’s candidates to woo the voters. Meanwhile, the BJP mocked Jogi’s decision and said ‘it’s an obvious sign of Congress possible defeat in urban bodies poll’.
“Jogi is the most influential leader from the Congress rank in Chhattisgarh; if he pulls out from campaign then it spells out how terribly the Congress is going to lose urban bodies polls,’’ Chhattisgarh CM and BJP’s star campaigner Raman Singh said in Korba when scribes sought his reactions to Jogi’s stunner.