Sonia offers Shahjahanpur to Prasada's widow

Sonia offers Shahjahanpur to Prasada's widow
SANJIV SINHA

NEW DELHI, MARCH 2: With an eye on the coming Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and the need for the party to put up a united front there, Congress chief Sonia Gandhi has offered the Shahjahanpur Lok Sabha seat -- which fell vacant following the death of senior leader Jitendra Prasada -- to his widow Kanta Prasada.

Party sources said that Sonia called Kanta Prasada to her 10, Janpath residence a couple of days back and formally invited her to contest from her husband's constituency. Prasada's widow is believed to have largely agreed to the offer though she has asked for some time to talk to people in her husband's constituency and his other supporters in the state.

Sonia's offer to Prasada's wife assumes significance, especially after one of his staunch loyalists, Surinder``Puttu'' Awasthi quit his Assembly seat (and the party) recently in favour of state Chief Minister Rajnath Singh. Party circles in UP view the Congress chief's offer as an attempt to stem dissidence in the state unit which had once again raised its ugly head after Prasada's death in January this year.

Prasada's supporters were feeling let down and isolated after his death since they had been largely ignored in the state unit, despite Sonia's assurance to the senior leader when he was alive that they would accommodated in key positions. There was even talk of another split in the party, similar to the one which took place under Naresh Aggarwal of the Lok Tantrik Congress in 1997.

It is in this scenario that Sonia's offer to Prasada's wife is obviously aimed at sending the right signals not only to Prasada's supporters but also to the entire party rank and file in Uttar Pradesh.

Prasada, who had emerged as Sonia's chief rival in the party, had contested against her for the Congress president's post in November last year. Although he lost badly, Sonia had subsequently made peace with him a few weeks before his death.

Sonia had similarly offered Rajesh Pilot's wife Rama, the option of contesting from her husband's constituency, Dausa, following his death in a road accident last year. Rama Pilot now represents Dausa in the Lok Sabha.

Apart from the offer of Shahajahanpur to Prasada's wife, the Congress chief also met the late leader's loyalists in the state -- among them several party MLAs -- earlier this week and assured them that their grievances would be looked into. She is learnt to have directed the new AICC general secretary in charge of the state, Ghulam Nabi Azad, to ensure all factions in the state are suitably accommodated so that the party can present a united face in the run up to the Assembly polls which are likely to be held later this year.