Kesri extends olive branch to rebellious PCC chiefs

Randhawa’s resignation and reports of protests against “bogus elections” from senior leaders in almost all big states already had the Kesri camp flustered. West Bengal firebrand MP, Mamata Banerjee’s call to boycott organisational polls, and the announcement by UP Congressmen led by senior leader Lokpati Tripathi to call on Sonia on May 27 and entreat her to `save the Congress’ today came as a warning signal. Kesri appeared more confident after his discussions with Punjab PCC chief in the afternoon. Talking to newspersons after the discussions, Kesri said he was confident that the Punjab issue would be resolved by tonight or tomorrow. The AICC had not accepted Randhawa’s resignation as the PCC chief, he said.Kesri tried to convince the journalists that the charges and counter-charges involving the party elections only showed that more and more party workers were keen on holding party posts. “It is a good sign for the party. It also shows that the party is fully alive,” he boasted.

However, there was an element of rancour against some of his detractors like Sharad Pawar, Jagannath Mishra and A R Antulay in Kesri’s words, when he said with a smile on his face that, “ those who wanted to sideline the party are themselves sidelined now”.

AICC general secretary Oscar Fernandes said efforts were on to resolve the matter and hoped that the issue would be sorted out. Fernandes pleaded ignorance about the boycott call given by West Bengal Youth Congress chief Mamta Bannerjee.

“However if something comes then the party will look into it for quick solution of the issue,” he added, indicating that the salvage operations had not been given up.

This showed a subtle softening up in the AICC establishment’s stance enunciated by AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad earlier in the day when he bluntly refuted all charges levelled against the party high command by former Bihar Chief minister Jagannath Mishra and Congress satraps from other states about electoral malpractice. Azad maintained that the membership drive was being handled by the PCCs and wondered “how the central leadership could be dragged into it.”

Reports from the states, nevertheless, put a big question mark over the success of Kesri’s stratagem.

In Uttar Pradesh, which accounts for the largest chunk of the Congress President’s electoral college as per AICC constitution, Congressmen are determined to bring Sonia back to the centrestage and even if UPPCC chief Jitendra Prasada decides to help out Kesri he might find it difficult to oppose the demand.

In Andhra Pradesh, even a comparatively non-partisan leader like former PCC chief K Rosaiah fears that “Congress would be wiped out if something drastic is not done” and has made a common cause with others like Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and V Hanamunatha Rao who have already called on Sonia and asked her to takeover the party’s reigns.

Things are no better in Karnataka, where almost all senior leaders are up in arms against the Kesri’s camp’s move to install scam-tainted S Bangarappa as the new PCC chief