Bypoll jolt brings fault lines to fore in MP Congress

Bhopal: The shocking defeat of Congress in byelections to Shahdol (ST) Lok Sbaha constituency has revived the demand for a change of leadership in Madhya Pradesh.

Sitting MLAs, Jitu Patwari and Arif Aqil, and former MP, Sajjan Singh Verma, of the party on Wednesday came out openly demanding ouster of MP Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Arun Yadav for not being able cash in on the “goodwill” enjoyed by Congress candidate Himadri Dalbir Singh, a new face, among voters, particularly the youth to win the Shahdol LS by-polls, results of which were declared on Tuesday.

“The Congress party has squandered the opportunity to wrest the Shahdol seat from the BJP, thanks to gross mismanagement of the party leadership,” a senior Congress leaders The Asian Age on condition of anonymity.

“Himadri was left alone to fend for herself at the fag-end of the campaign. She even had sent an SOS in the evening of November 17, two days before the voting day, to state Congress leadership, seeking organisational and financial support to give momentum to her campaign. But, her pleadings went unheeded,” he revealed.

In fact, no senior Congress leader turned up in Shahdol to join party electioneering since November 14, leading the rookie politician to somehow manage the show, a local Congress leader rued.

The victory margin for the BJP in Shahdol LS byelections has narrowed down considerably to around 60,000 as compared to 2.41 lakh in the 2014 elections in the seat. Besides, Gondwana Ganatantra Party and CPI, the former allies of Congress, have secured around 55,000 and 21,000 votes, causing defeat of Congress.