NEW DELHI, Jan 15: Intense infighting has engulfed the Congress over the issue of giving a ticket to former Prime Minister Narasimha Rao. Going by the sharp polarisation which has already taken place in the party – Rao's supporters versus those of Sonia Gandhi and Sitaram Kesri – the Congress Election Committee which is to meet on Saturday to decide on the remaining candidates may well find itself in a bind.Rao's omission from the first list of candidates declared yesterday by the party has triggered a wave of anger among his supporters. And there are quite a few of them.
Those in the forefront who have initiated measures to secure a berth for Rao are his three supporters -- Pranab Mukherjee, Jitendra Prasada and Mizoram Chief Minister Lalthanhawla.
Not all Congressmen buy CWC member Madhavrao Scindia's argument that since Rao is facing a CBI charge-sheet, he should not be allowed to contest.
``The same argument holds true for Scindia. After being charge-sheeted in the hawala case, didn't he,
while fighting for the Gwalior seat, claim that a mere charge-sheet did not make him a convict? And doesn't he realise that Rao too has not been convicted in any case,'' says one of his supporters.
Another reason being cited by the anti-Rao camp (consisting essentially of Kesri, Scindia, K Vijayabhaskar Reddy and Tariq Anwar) to claim his head is that it will guarantee the party sizable Muslim votes. Rao, it is held by this camp, is still not forgiven by the Muslims for the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Rao's supporters are not convinced with this logic. They point at the ``irreversible damage'' the party will suffer by not fielding its own former Prime Minister. Says his close associate Matang Singh: ``We will be going against the Congress culture by denying a ticket to Rao. It will be a disservice to the party.''A number of Congressmen are also irked at the ``double standards'' adopted by the party. If these Congressmen are to be believed, Balram Jakhar, facing a Central Bureau of Investigation
charge-sheet in the multi-crore hawala scam case, is tipped to be the party's candidate from Bikaner in Rajasthan.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
