The Congress in UP is now locked in another bitter battle.
The announcement of UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi’s candidature from Lucknow Cantt Assembly seat has put her detractors in the activity zone.
Her rivals are now demanding that a working president should be appointed for the party’s state unit since Ms Joshi would be preoccupied with her own election and would not be able to give the required time to other candidates and constituencies.
The anti-Joshi lobby wants that a representative from the Muslim or OBC community should be appointed as UPCC working president in order to balance out the case equation.
“Both UPCC president Rita Bahuguna Joshi as well as CLP leader Pramod Tiwari are Brahmins and appointing a Muslim or an OBC leader as working president could work wonders for the party,” said a senior party legislator.
Ms Joshi’s detractors argue that since Ms Joshi would be contesting the polls herself and would be hard pressed for time, an alternative arrangement was urgently needed before the polls.
“Earlier, the party high command had said that party office bearers would not be allowed to contest polls and anyone who wanted to do so, would have to step down from the organisational post. In Ms Joshi’ case, the party high command has made an exception and given her the ticket but in practical terms, we need an alternative authority for the elections,” said a former UPCC president.
Congress leaders favouring a working president are discreetly running a signature campaign and plan to send it to the party high command sometime next week.
“This should not be construed as an anti-Joshi step but as a pro-Congress step. We are not seeking her removal — we are only seeking a better arrangement during elections,” explained one who is running the campaign.
Meanwhile, the Rita Joshi lobby is dead against the idea and terms it a “sinister move”.