NEW DELHI, Dec 23: The proxy war in the Congress took toll of another party leader today. Hardcore Arjun Singh follower P R Kumaramangalam quit the party alleging that Kesri was encouraging unethical practices in the Congress.Kumaramangalam said he was resigning from the party's primary membership in a letter to party president Sitaram Kesri. ``People are tired of the self-seeking party combinations being worked out in the name of combating communalism. The events that have unfolded in the recent past have constrained me to leave the party,'' he wrote.He added the party was committing ``serious errors in the arena of politics and ethics'' and failed to take corrective steps. Kumaramangalam had only recently returned to the Congress with Arjun Singh and N.D. Tiwari.Apparently, Singh, himself a proclaimed Sonia loyalist, asked Kumaramangalam to quit and blame Kesri for it. It is being seen as the first strike by Singh in the battle to unseat Kesri. Singh has been chafing at Kesri's activities including his efforts to save the Gujral Government over the Jain Commission report. Other Sonia loyalists like Jitendra Prasada and Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy have also been unhappy at Kesri's efforts to sideline 10, Janpath, after publicly expressing allegiance to Sonia.The biggest snub Kesri administered to Sonia was the expulsion of Mamata Banerjee after calling her his ``daughter'' for months. The expulsion came after Sonia made intense efforts to bring about peace between Mamata and the AICC, and was announced two days after a solution was hammered out by 10, Janpath.Though Kumaramangalam's resignation is not likely to mean much in electoral terms, it is another step in the splintering of the party. A feeling is growing that Kesri is playing petty politics which is not helping the party. Kesri himself appeared unfazed and spoke of a ``surprising result'' in the coming elections.Kumaramangalam thus joins a growing list of unhappy Congressmen who have parted ways with Kesri. Before him were Naresh Aggarwal, Jagannath Mishra, Krishna Sahi, S Bangarappa, N Bhaskara Rao, Dilip Singh Bhuria, Aslam Sher Khan, Mamata Banerjee, V. Ramamurthy and Mani Shankar Aiyar. To add to this, rumblings haven't ceased in other States like Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Jammu & Kashmir and elsewhere.In Karnataka too, former Congress minister Madan Gopal Naik quit primary membership claiming fatigue with rampant groupism in the party. Mamata Banerjee is expected here tomorrow to formalise registration of her Trinamul Congress with the Election Commission. Jagannath Mishra and Ramamurthy are expected to do so with their outfits in a few days.Today, Mani Shankar Aiyar sent a formal letter of regret to Congress Working Committee member Pranab Mukherjee saying he wouldn't be able to join the party's manifesto committee after disassociating himself from the Kesri-led Congress. Aiyar added he was keen on accepting Mamata's offer of a seat in Calcutta.Meanwhile, the Congress central campaign committee met at the party headquarters for the first time since it was formed. It accepted that the party must forge regional alliances with like-minded parties and asked Pradesh Congress Committee's to recommend only candidates with a ``clean'' image.
