New Delhi: After Congress won just two seats and a meagre 2 per cent vote share in Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, party workers from the state reached Congress headquarters in New Delhi to express their anguish against the office bearers. While these workers raised slogans in favour of Congress General Secretary of Uttar Pradesh, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, they held a protest at the party office against AICC National Secretary and co-in-charge of UP Dheeraj Gurjar and personal Secretary of Priyanka, Sandeep Singh, accusing them of "selling" poll tickets to people.
Speaking to ETV Bharat, UP Congress member Virendra Singh Guddu said, "Priyanka Gandhi had given her 100% to the state, so it doesn't matter that results were not in favour of us. But there are some people inside the party who want to harm Congress internally. These people not only mismanaged this (elections) but also used to curse the party workers which forced many of them to leave the party."
Referring to Dheeraj Gurjar, Guddu said: "A person who had lost elections in his own state was appointed as the National Secretary. Now he is not able to even enter Uttar Pradesh. Such person who has cheated the party got a place in Rajasthan cabinet as a reward," he said.
Another Congress worker expressed anguish against Sandeep Singh, alleging that he was a BJP-RSS "agent". "This is not a defeat of Congress or Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, this is a defeat of that advisor who deceived the party by selling tickets to dummy candidates instead of Congress workers," he said. Months before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, Congress had announced 40 per cent reservation to women candidates in ticket distribution. However, many women Congress members also came forward, with allegations of corruption against Sandeep Singh.
Parul Chaudhary, another UP Congress worker, said, "Our slogan of 'Ladki Hun, Lad Sakti Hun' got weak because of the middle management. Many women Congress workers complained against the National Secretary but no action was taken. Also, these people expel without any prior notice whoever tries to raise voice against them."
In the recently held Assembly elections, Congress' seat-tally came down to two from seven in 2017, while its vote share declined to 2.35 per cent from 6.25 per cent.
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