Arjun, Tiwari were gunning for more in UP

Arjun, Tiwari were gunning for more in UP
SANJIV SINHA

NEW DELHI, SEPT 23: A failed `understanding' between ousted Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Salman Khursheed and senior party leader N.D. Tiwari may have led to the unexpected installation of Sri Prakash Jaiswal as the new PCC chief in the state.

Party sources say the outgoing PCC chief had recommended that N.D. Tiwari be appointed as his successor in Lucknow, in a quid pro quo for the latter supporting him in the contest for a Congress Working Committee (CWC) berth in the coming party polls.

Tiwari's name was, however, turned down by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi as his appointment would have only added fuel to the factional fighting in the state as the animosity between him and senior CWC member Jitendra Prasada is well known.

It was then that the name of Jaiswal, a first-time, non-controversial MP from Kanpur, cropped up as an alternative. Since he wore the Congress (Tiwari) badge, his name could not be rejected by Tiwari and Arjun Singh. Senior leader Madhavrao Scindia's backing further tilted the scales in Jaiswal's favour.

Now, with Jaiswal's appointment, Tiwari and Arjun will also have to contend with Scindia, who has become an additional influence in UP politics.

The fact that Khursheed and Tiwari (along with Arjun) may have been working in tandem to ``take over'' the UPCC is also evident from the fact that the outgoing PCC chief had heavily loaded the list of District Returning Officers (DROs) with Congress (Tiwari) men.

This list was later scrapped by the party's Central Election Authority (CEA) Chairman Ram Niwas Mirdha, following protests from senior partymen, including Prasada. (The DROs conduct the elections of the state's PCC delegates, who in turn elect the PCC chief and AICC delegates. UP has the largest PCC and AICC delegates and as such is crucial to the outcome of the party polls).

Congress sources add that although Jaiswal's installation is a victory for the Tiwari-Arjun combine, the new PCC chief is not going to find it easy to play along completely with his bosses. For one, the list of District Returning Officers (DROs) for the state has to be drawn afresh and Jaiswal is already under pressure to ensure a ``relatively balanced'' DRO list this time.

Mirdha is believed to have impressed upon Jaiswal the need to make the new DRO list somewhat credible since a list similar to that drawn up by his predecessor would only provide further ammunition to dissidents to claim the polls have been hijacked by a section of the party.

Keeping in mind the sensitive place Uttar Pradesh occupies in Congress politics and her own survival, Sonia, say sources close to Jaiswal, has asked him to work towards rejuvenating the organisation in the state and not play a factional leader as his predecessor did.