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Outsiders on the Congress list

K.V. Prasad

Unhappiness in State units over list of candidates for Rajya Sabha elections.

THE ROLE of the ubiquitous high command in the selection of Congress candidates for the Rajya Sabha has again come to the fore. The list, made public after rounds of consultations with party leaders from the States, saw "outsiders" finding their way into it. It has caused consternation among the regional leaders who were left out.

The decision of party president Sonia Gandhi will ultimately be accepted, but the response among the workers to the nomination of Raashid Alvi (Andhra Pradesh), Satyavrat Chaturvedi (Uttaranchal), Rajiv Shukla (Maharashtra), and Mabel Rebello (Jharkhand) has been less than enthusiastic.

Take, for instance, Andhra Pradesh. The State party leaders were already upset over senior MPs being "ignored" by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his first major Cabinet expansion last month. Many had protested the induction of D. Purandeswari. Now, Mr. Alvi's re-nomination from the State has added to their resentment.

Party leaders have already complained that the outsider factor coupled with the high command's top-down approach could see a resurgence of the "Andhra pride" the TDP successfully exploited in 1983. Party founder N.T. Rama Rao had played the tune that a Congress Chief Minister could not run the State without "directions" from the high command. A case of New Delhi ruling Andhra Pradesh, he had said.

Loyal workers feel ignored

Along with the outsider factor, loyal party workers feel that newcomers such as Mr. Alvi, a former Bahujan Samaj Party MP who joined the Congress just before the 2004 Lok Sabha elections and was immediately accommodated from Andhra Pradesh, and Mr. Shukla who are seen in the corridors of Delhi enjoy a head start over field workers.

Mr. Shukla was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2000 as a candidate of the breakaway All India Loktantrik Congress Party of Naresh Agarwal in Uttar Pradesh, which supported the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance Party at the Centre.

Later, Mr. Shukla re-joined the Congress after his parent party lost its political presence.

Known for his perceived proximity to the Gandhi siblings, Mr. Shukla upset calculations by taking the second seat from Maharashtra where the numbers do not add up yet.

The Nationalist Congress party, an ally of the Congress, has also fielded two candidates. Mr. Shukla would have to count on Independents since the surplus votes are with the Opposition Shiv Sena-BJP combine.

Uttaranchal Congress leaders were insisting that a local leader be given the opportunity after the last vacancy went to the former Union Minister, Satish Sharma. The Thakurs too had aspired for a seat and now with Mr. Chaturvedi's nomination, the Congress will have two Brahmin leaders from the hill State in the Rajya Sabha.

Mr. Chaturvedi shot into prominence forcing the former BJP leader, Uma Bharti, to shift her Khajuraho constituency in 1999. In the 2004 general elections, Mr. Chaturvedi was trounced by a margin of 1.11 lakh votes by his BJP rival.

Onerous task

Thereafter, Ms. Gandhi gave him the onerous task of re-vitalising the moribund Uttar Pradesh Congress making him AICC general secretary. His running battles with UPCC chief Salman Khursheed eventually saw him being relieved of the assignment.

Ms. Rebello, who in her last term represented Madhya Pradesh, has crossed over to Jharkhand. She has been actively assisting the party in the Northeast.

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