Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) has called all its districts presidents and office bearers for a meeting with central observers. Pradesh Congress Committee president Sukhdeo Bhagat has sent letters to all the leaders to attend the Friday meeting in which discussion, besides organisational matters, about strategy of the party for the upcoming Assembly elections would figure prominently.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) had appointed teams of observers from Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh who would be visiting Jharkhand on July 11. later, they will also go to different Assembly segments of Jharkhand to look into affairs over there. “Their major role would be to observe ground reality at local level and strength of the party vis-à-vis the elections,” said Sukhdeo Bhagat, PCC chief.
Their reports would hold significance for the Congress in the candidate selection process and also in deciding whether the party should go for coalition or walk alone in the November bound polls. Importance of the meeting can be understood with the fact that in-charge of the party affairs BK Hariprasad and his deputy Tarachand Bhagora are arriving Ranchi on Thursday evening.
Sense into the party is also that the meeting may see several heads rolling, especially of the district presidents. This may fuel the lobbying which is already on its high after series of parallel meetings of the leaders into rival camp of the PCC president.
“The president has taken the matter seriously and any attempt to topple or derail the preparation when crucial Assembly polls are so near would be dealt with iron hands. The matter is going to be discussed in the meeting,” said a leader close to Sukhdeo Bhagat.
In the meantime leaders of the rival camp-former Ranchi MP Subodh Kant Sahay, Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Balmuchu, Deeraj Sahu and Rameshwar Oraon, who were camping in Delhi and were toiling hard to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi for quite some time succeeded in meeting her on Wednesday. “We update her with latest situation of the party prevailing in the State,” said Sahu. Furkan Ansari was also in Delhi but had to return due to some personal problem.
The leaders are said to have resorted to pressure tactic over the leadership both at Ranchi and Delhi to get hold on ticket distribution in the light of the polls. Moreover all the leaders, influential though, are being labeled by the Bhagat camp as losers and a bunch of blackmailers before the high command.