Just before jumping into the poll mode, Congress leaders expressing their annoyance against the announcement made by the State Congress in-charge BK Hariprasad of going to the Assembly elections under the leadership of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, seem to have opened a front against him. Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu alongwith other leaders left for Delhi on Sunday in order to express their anger on the decision taken by the leadership.
Some of the Congress leaders in Jharkhand, who had tacitly been opposing Hariprasad till date, have outrightly rejected his idea to go to the Assembly elections under the leadership of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.
“We supported the JMM in running the Government successfully for the last one and half year in the State but going to Assembly elections under its leadership is not acceptable to any of us here in Jharkhand,” MP Dheeraj Sahu was quoted as saying.
Sahu alleged that Hariprasad is trying to put the Congress party into the lap of JMM. “We are going to Delhi and will the issue with the senior party leaders like Ahmed Patel, Rahul Gandhi as well as Sonia Gandhi against the decision taken by the central leadership,” added Sahu.
Congress workers on the other hand are also of the view that the Congress being a national party should never think of such experiment which may propagate a negative message among the party cadres as well as its vote bank. “It’s better to join JMM than going to the polls under their leadership,” said a senior Congress leader requesting anonymity.
The Congress leader further added that if the party leadership sticks to its decision, it would be playing with the sentiments of the party workers. “If we have Sonia and Rahul Gandhi as our leaders, then why to accept the supremacy of a regional party,” added the leader.
State party spokesperson lal Kishore Nath Shahdeo on the other hand said that the State president Sukhdeo Bhagat has already cleared that no such decision on the leadership has been taken yet. It has only been decided that the party will go to the polls on the basis of the structure of the present alliance while no any declaration regarding seat sharing has been done,” said Shahdeo.
Congress has full confidence over its principles and policies which will go to the polls under the leadership of Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, added Shahdeo.
Meanwhile, meeting of extended working committee of Jharkhand State Congress will be held at the Congress headquarters on Monday where discussions over the coming Assembly elections will be done.