NEW DELHI: Resentment in Congress ranks over ticket distribution for Gujarat elections broke out in the open, forcing the party to withdraw its second list of 46 candidates released late on Wednesday night.
The anger in Congress was evident when party MPs engaged heir apparent Rahul Gandhi in animated discussion in Parliament in the presence of the head of the screening committee and Union minister C P Joshi.
The discontent was evident with a Union minister from the state saying early in the day that the party had put the list on hold. The decision was announced only in the evening. He said the names of candidates may undergo serious changes after the protests.
Congress is locked in a lopsided battle with BJP headed by Narendra Modi in Gujarat and protests over nominations do no augur well for the party. Even the first list of 52 candidates led to protests and resignations in Ahmedabad.
Congress leaders conceded that the party had failed to build momentum despite favourable factors like rebellion by BJP veteran Keshubhai Patel. The selection of candidates was said to have been the final weapon to rally opinion in its favour but the initial reaction has disappointed the party.
An agitated Congress MP threatened to walk out of the party and even "expose" senior leaders for doing the bidding of an industrial house by "planting" candidates.
He said the partnership with NCP was being used to settle scores with in-house aspirants. NCP general secretary D P Tripathi said the junior partner was allocated nine of the 182 seats in the state.
Congress withdraws second list of candidates in Gujarat after protests
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Congress withdraws second list of candidates in Gujarat after protests
