Solanki still a force to reckon with

By Manas Dasgupta

GANDHINAGAR, JULY 4. Intense groupism within the Gujarat unit of the Congress came to the fore during the workers' convention here which was boycotted by the anti-Madhavsinh Solanki faction though it was intended to ``strengthen the hands of Ms. Sonia Gandhi''.

By managing to gather a sizeable audience and going by the rousing reception he was accorded, Mr. Solanki seems to have re- established that he is still a force to be reckoned with.

His supporters issued veiled threats to the official faction led by the newly-appointed pradesh Congress president, Mr. Amarsinh Chaudhary, that Mr. Solanki could be ``ignored'' only at the peril of the party.

Unlike the convention last year convened by the Solanki faction, which marked the beginning of the open war between Mr. Solanki and the then PCC president, Mr. C.D. Patel, efforts were made by both sides to avoid confrontation. Except for Mr. Solanki, most other speakers did not forget to mention the ``state of affairs'' in the PCC, which according to them was far from satisfactory.

``We must fight power-mongers whether within the party or outside,'' said one of the organisers, Mr. Surendra Rajput. ``We must identify the real Congress and re-establish its identity,'' said the former MP, Mr. Haroobhai Mehta, while a former Minister, Mr. Khodidan Jhula, ridiculed Mr. Chaudhary's ``advisers'' who themselves were ``turn-coats'', but were now ``advising'' the party president to ``sack a veteran leader such as Mr. Solanki.''

Mr. Solanki's focus, however, was confined to the ``misrule'' of the BJP in the State and at the Centre. Quoting Ms. Gandhi's call at the Bangalore convention to ``go to the villages to strengthen the organisation'', he advised the party workers to fight against the ruling party, which had ``failed'' to solve the problems of the people even during natural calamities.

Though the political resolution adopted at the convention was also on the same lines, the call to form village committees and the decision to organise similar conventions in Surat and Ahmedabad and later at the district and taluka levels could well prove to be the major irritant between the two factions in the long run.

There was no official word about the convention and the State unit left it to the members whether to attend or not. As expected none from the Chaudhary-Ahmed Patel group or their supporters, including the erstwhile Janata Dal (Gujarat) or the Rashtriya Janata Party (RJP) factions of the former Chief Minister, Mr. Shankarsinh Waghela, attended the meet.

It was due to the open criticism of the party leadership during the run-up to a similar convention in June last, that Mr. Patel not only tried to stall the gathering, but also branded it illegal.

He also suspended four of the main organisers from the party. But ignoring the decree, the Solanki supporters attended the convention in large numbers and converted it into a platform to declare war against the State leadership and a tirade against the then AICC treasurer, Mr. Ahmed Patel, which resulted in his relinquishing his post.

Mr. Chaudhary could claim the support of the entire non-Solanki faction members, but the RJP's plan to organise a ``get- together'' of its workers on July 15 does not augur well for the party. Though the former RJP president, Mr. Madhusudan Mistry, ruled out the parting of ways of Waghela supporters from the Congress, he was critical of the ``ill-treatment'' of the group even two years after the merger.

Mr. Waghela and Mr. Mistry, who recently toured the State to re- establish contact with the erstwhile RJP workers, have one point in common with the Solanki faction. They feel that even after the resounding victory in the panchayat and municipal elections in September last, the Congress was not doing enough to revitalise the organisation to throw an effective challenge to the BJP in the Assembly elections.

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