It was a communication gap. The Congress party’s senior leader Satyanarayan Sharma was being constantly updated on the deliberations regarding selection of the lok Sabha candidate, said Congress legislative Party (ClP) leader TS Singh Deo on Sunday.
“I think some miscreants who mixed with supporters of party’s leader Satyanarayan Sharma created the whole scene here,” he said in a telephonic conversation with The Pioneer. He said that the senior leader had never demanded ticket for lok Sabha seat and when his name came up for the seat he left the decision to party’s top leaders for taking the final call.
“We were not informed about the flip of candidature from Satyanarayan Sharma to Chhaya Verma by the party high command. The decision to select candidates is totally upto the party high command and there it is no obligation for them to consider our views while selecting the candidate,” Singh Deo said. “However, we should be kept informed while doing so which did not happen in this case,” Singh Deo said adding, later on, her candidature was cancelled and Satyanarayan Sharma was made contender from Raipur seat on March 13.
Detailing the events that led to the party’s sticking to its choice of Chhaya Verma once again from the Raipur seat, Singh Deo that said, “On the intervening night of Saturday and Sunday around 1:30 am, we got a message from higher party leaders that Chhaya was re-elected for Raipur seat and the decision was conveyed to Satyanarayan Sharma by some senior party leader following which Sharma’s son reached Chhaya Verma’s house expressing Satyanarayan Sharma’s support.”
The ClP leader remarked that it is rarely seen that after such change of candidature any leader expresses his support to other candidate in same party. These sentiments of Sharma should not be allowed to be hijacked by miscreants, he maintained. Meanwhile, party sources informed that Chhaya Verma is herself a supporter of Satyanarayan Sharma and she also balances the caste equilibrium. Considering these points the former was announced as party candidate’s from Raipur on March 8.