Supporters and sympathizers of former Daltonganj Congress MlA K N Tripathy said they were ‘too hurt’ not to find their leader on the posters of the Congress party here which were splashed here on Monday on the occasion of the arrival of the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Dr Ajay Kumar .
“It is a deliberate political undermining of a leader of the stature of Tripathy who has always stood with the common masses here on all social causes” said Rakesh Singh of Chainpur here. Tripathy said, “ I am in the hearts of the people of Palamu. It does not matter who is on the poster or who is out of the poster. I am the people’s face, not the poster boy.”
Palamu district Congress president Jeyesh Ranjan Pathak popularly known as Bittu Pathak on the other hand said the posters that the party had on Monday here had photos of only the office bearers of the party organization and that too was in the order of protocol. Bittu Pathak refused to be drawn into any further comment or remark on why Tripathy was out of the poster.
Congress sources said the visit of Dr Ajay Kumar here on Monday has widened the gap among the Congressmen most as the words doing the rounds here is that the present State president of the Congress party is clipping the image of his own leaders of the party which is sending down a wrong signal among the supporters of this party here. The Congress cadres here are too baffled also over this development.
Congress sources said political sailing of Dr Ajay Kumar would be too difficult here in Palamu if he so pursues the politics of marginalization of his own people. Sources said it was the first mayoral election in the tenure of Dr Ajay Kumar where the Congress could not romp home in 5 mayoral seats in the state which the BJP candidates bagged and there were tongues wagging then that he ( Dr Ajay) selected wrong one for right place!