Congress cannot afford to rest its oars
BHOPAL: The Congress’ victory in the two by-polls is being widely perceived as the personal victory of MP Jyotiraditya Scindia. All the Congress leaders have given the credit for the victory to Scindia but the statement of the state party president Arun Yadav does not even mention his name.
The victories in Ater and Chitrakoot and now in Kolaras and Mungaoli are bound to rejuvenate the Congress workers and boost the morale of the party’s rank and file. Speculations on who would lead the Congress in the polls have been doing the rounds in the party for quite some time. Now, Scindia would be able to stake his claim more forcefully.
Of the four by-elections the Congress has won, in three of them, it was Scindia’s popularity that helped the party sail through. The poll outcome may intensify the battle between the lobby that doesn’t want any leader to be projected as the chief minister and Scindia-followers.
The Scindia-followers celebrated the victory at the PCC headquarters, carrying a banner saying “Abki baar, Scindia Sarkar”. MP Satyavrat Chaturvedi and former PCC chief Suresh Pachauri are also in favour of projecting Scindia.
The Congress’ poll strategy may undergo a change after the former chief minister Digvijay Singh completes his Narmada Yatra. Digvijay supporters are waiting for it before finalising their strategy.
