Infighting forces Cong to postpone its polls in 11 districts

At a time when organisational elections are under process in state Congress, senior party functionaries are finding it difficult to contain bickering in the party and ensure completion of the polls smoothly.

After a delay of over a month, the election authorities have finally announced August 25 as the last date for holding elections for the posts of city and district presidents but sources said election for around 20 top posts in over 11 districts is likely to be deferred because of differences over candidature.

Since party is presently facing other pressing issues like farmers? protest, privatisation of sugar mills and panchayat elections, it does not want its leaders to be involved into infighting among themselves. As a result, senior party leaders have decided to hold elections at ?sensitive? places separately.

?These are some places which require extra attention. Thus, we have decided to conduct elections there separately,? said a senior party leader in the state. However, no specific date has been fixed to hold elections there.

Sources in the party inform that top on the list of such places are Kanpur Nagar and Dehat districts, where conflict between MP Sriprakash Jaiswal and sitting MLA from Govindnagar Ajay Kapoor is a common knowledge.

In Aligarh, sources said it is becoming difficult to bring former MLC Vivek Bansal and former MMP Brijendra Singh on a single platform. In Muzaffarnagar, the candidature of sitting Congress district president Narendra Pal Singh is opposed by local MLA Pankaj Malik, son of senior party leader Harendra Singh Malik.

Similarly, in Varanasi, the party is finding it difficult to find a candidate who is acceptable to different groups in the district. One group is lead by former MP Rajesh Kumar Mishra and another by Rajeshpati Tripathi, former MLC and son of former UP Chief Minister Kamalapati Tripathi.

A member of the party?s election authority said that since it was decided that candidature would depend on the membership drive, objections are being raised over the number of members made.

?Probably, there will be recounting of membership forms in these areas. But it is yet to be decided and the final list of such districts where elections would take place separately should be made public in a day or two.? he said.

State party president Rita Bahuguna Joshi said, ?Elections at certain places would be held separately so that more attention can be given there.

The list of such places will out tomorrow.?