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Sonia
heads for Assam in bid to unite party for elections
Sanjiv Sinha
New Delhi,
April 27: Congress chief Sonia Gandhi will kick off her election
campaign in the five states going to polls next month from Tinsukia
in Assam on April 30, amidst large-scale resentment in the state
unit there over the selection of candidates.
Party sources
said Sonia, who has planned to campaign extensively in the coming
Assembly polls, had chosen Assam as her first stop simply because
of the rumblings in the state unit which were threatening to cast
a shadow over the party’s prospects.
Her campaign
managers are of the view that her visit will help in curbing dissidence
and provide a fillip to the beleagured state leaders, including
PCC chief Tarun Gogoi. But unhappy partymen too are gearing up for
her visit during which they plan to express their anger at the selection
of ‘‘dubious’’ candidates and the bypassing
of well-deserving ones.
According to
the schedule drawn up for her, Sonia will address public meetings
in Tinsukia, Jorhat, Howrahghat and culminate her one-day trip to
the north-eastern state with a rally in Tezpur, the Lok Sabha constituency
of controversial party MP M.K. Subba.
A section of
the party’s state leadership has accused the high command here
of succumbing to the influence wielded by Subba in the selection
of candidates — his brother S.R. Subba is among a fair number
given tickets reportedly at his behest.
In her whirlwind
tour of Assam, Sonia will be joined by other senior leaders including,
AICC general secretary incharge Kamal Nath. After Assam, she will
proceed for a two-day election tour of neighbouring West Bengal
where she will address joint rallies with Trinamool chief Mamata
Banerjee.
While Sonia may have chosen to kickstart her campaign from Assam,
all is not well with her party there, with a host of rebel candidates
taking the field and PCC chief Gogoi having to face the brunt of
the ire of partymen unhappy with the selection of candidates.
In fact, Gogoi
has now chosen to distance himself from the selection process and
has put the entire onus on the party’s central leadership.
There is a real possibility that Sonia may have to witness unpleasant
scenes when she arrives in the state, with a section of angry partymen
planning to make known their sense of outrage to her.
At least, two
former Congress leaders, former Union ministers P.A. Sangma and
Matang Sinh, both known for their anti-Sonia stance, have made Assam
their battleground to ‘‘avenge’’ their expulsion
from the party. While Sangma, who is now in the NCP, and Sinh may
not be operating in tandem, their objective is the same — to
cut into Congress votes and ensure the party’s defeat in key
constituencies.
The NCP has
fielded strong candidates in Congress strongholds while Sinh is
backing as many as 27 rebel candidates of the Congress who were
denied tickets by their parent party.
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