Congress troubles are on; infighting a major reason to worry with polls due in Haryana, Maharashtra

Congress infighting has made it really difficult for the party to contest Haryana and Maharashtra assembly polls peacefully. Important party leaders from both the states have raised questions on the way tickets were distributed.

New Delhi: Congress seems to be passing through endless troubles. As the grand old party prepares itself for the upcoming elections in Haryana and Maharashtra, important leaders from the two states have shown resentment with former Haryana Congress chief Ashok Tanwar resigning from the party, alleging corruption in ticket distribution and former Mumbai Congress chief Sanjay Nirupam, who has been an insider and close to the party leadership, slamming the party brass saying they are not aware of the ground realities.

He also has threatened to quit the party.

Tanwar, who resigned on Saturday, had alleged that those who worked against the party’s interests in the last five years have been given preference over those who worked hard for it. In a letter to Interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Tanwar had alleged that the Congress in Haryana had turned into the “Hooda Congress”.

Tanwar along with his supporters had protested in front of Sonia Gandhi’s residence here a few days ago. He alleged that poll tickets were being 'sold' in the poll-bound state.

The Congress had earlier this year replaced Tanwar as Haryana party chief with Kumari Selja, in a bid to curb infighting within the state unit. Selja too does not feature in the list of 90 candidates the party has announced for the Assembly polls.

Similarly in Maharashtra, Sanjay Nirupam said reportedly said that the leaders in Delhi are unaware of the ground reality. "The brass is totally disconnected as they stay away from campaigning. There is also no mechanism to take feedback from the party workers on the ground," he was quoted as saying by the media reports.

Nirupam also alleged that Congress loyalists were being sidelined and claimed that this was part of a conspiracy against former party chief Rahul Gandhi. He said around 20 of promising candidates were not given tickets by the Congress.

The ongoing tussle in the Congress is dangerous for the party that suffered a major blow during the general elections held earlier this year.

The assembly elections in Haryana and Maharashtra will be held on October 21.