Still waters, they say, run deep and discontent in the UP Congress over the nomination of Mr Rashid Masood for Rajya Sabha is quietly gathering storm.
Though party leaders — still reeling under the impact of the party’s poor performance in recent elections — are not too vocal about the Centre’s choice for the Upper House, there are many who are “deeply upset” over Mr Masood’s nomination.
“It is decisions like these that repeatedly damage the Congress in this state. Rashid Masood was brought in with much fanfare just before elections and was projected as the party’s Muslim face but ultimately he could not ensure the Congress victory even in his home district Saharanpur and his own nephew lost the polls. Instead of doing some introspection, our leaders are rewarding him with a Rajya Sabha seat,” said a former UPCC president.
A senior Congress MLA, on the other hand, said that the party leadership was constantly ignoring loyalists and old timers and giving preference to new entrants which left the cadres demoralised.
“It is the cadre who work at the ground level and when they get demoralised, they sit at home — like they did in this election. We really wish that our leaders wake up to reality and begin rewarding old loyalists instead of turncoats,” he said.