Congmen race for Chhattisgarh CM charges up

Congmen race for Chhattisgarh CM charges up
YOGESH VAJPEYI

BHOPAL, OCT 20: Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister and Congress MP Shyama Charan Shukla's charge that some persons were indulging in horse-trading to become the Chief Minister has given a new twist to the ongoing tussle among the region's Congressmen.

The elder Shukla -- who is reportedly himself vying with his younger brother and former Union Minister V.C. Shukla for the CM's post -- told newspersons that a party legislator from Bilaspur district was offered Rs 25 lakhs and the Minister of State's post by one of the CM aspirants.

S.C.Shukla refused to identify the person offering such inducements, but added that Congress president Sonia Gandhi had been informed about thedevelopment. ``I have given you the fact and leave it to your investigativetalents to find out the person,'' was all he would say.

Though most of his rivals for the post -- including V.C.Shukla and AICCspokesperson Ajit Jogi -- feigned ignorance about the matter, the accusation has given rise to wild speculations among Chhattisgarh's 48 Congress MLAs whowill have to select their leader before the new state is formed on November1.

While one section of the MLAs tended to agree with the senior Shukla, othersdismissed the charge as an attempt by him to tarnish the image of his potential rivals.

V.C.Shukla was categorical that no such case had come to his knowledge andalmost challenged his elder brother to come out with full facts. Jogi wascircumspect and tried to laugh away the suggestion by insisting that``Congressmen cannot be bought.''

Both of them are front runners in the race for Chhattisgarh CM's post andhave been openly lobbying for support among the legislators ever since theCentral notification about the formation of the new state was issued.

AICC treasurer Moti Lal Vora, who had specially come to Bhopal toparticipate in the farewell function, was also surprised when newspersons asked him about the charges of horse-trading. ``I can only say that I have nopersonal knowledge of such a development. Nor has it been brought to thenotice of the Congress High Command,'' he said.

Vora parried questions about his own willingness to take up the job. ``I amdoing a job which was assigned to me by the Congress president. If she wantsme to give up the present job and take another responsibility, I will obey.''

Meanwhile, an informal meeting of Chhattisgarh's Congress MLAs held at Chief Minister Digvijay Singh's residence earlier in the day, is being reported to have agreed to leave the choice of the new state's CM to Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

A section in Madhya Pradesh Congress, however, feels that this was a ritualwhich Congress satraps always resorted to before they could work out aconsensus on one person. ``Of course, Sonia will have the last say in thematter. But she will seek the assessment of senior MP Congress leadersbefore making up her mind,'' said a senior MPCC functionary.

With the two Shukla brothers and Jogi themselves in the race, the opinionof Chief Minister Digvijay Singh as well as CWC member Arjun Singh, party'sdeputy leader in Lok Sabha, Madhaorao Scindia, former Union Minister KamalNath will weigh heavily with Sonia, political observers feel. They attach great significance to a close-door meeting between Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath at the CM's residence on Friday in this context. Asked about the meeting, Kamal Nath merely said: ``All I can say, at present, it that whosoever becomes the Chhattisgarh CM will receive full cooperation from others.''

Singh was equally taciturn. ``The leadership question will be decided inaccordance with the wishes of Chhattisgarh MLAs,'' he maintained.

While the Shukla brothers, Jogi and Vora top the list of probables, darkhorses like Arvind Netam and Charan Das Mahant are waiting in the wings tojump into the fray, should the power tussle among the veterans lead to a no-win situation. Both of them kept meeting the MLAs throughout the two-dayfarewell session of the Assembly that ended on Friday.

Also nursing their subdued hopes are members of Digvijay's cabinet likeSatyanarain Sharma and Nand Kumar Patel, should Sonia decide to pick up theleader from among the sitting MLAs. They are reportedly banking on their proximity with Digvijay Singh.