In run-up to LS polls,exodus from UP Cong

To cite an example,Congress’s Nautanwa MLA Kaushal Kishore Singh Munna only attends the ruling Samajwadi Party’s (SP) functions. Maharajganj district Congress president Tribhuvan Nath Mishra,who has already complained to the party high-command,said,“He won the seat on Congress ticket but attends all SP public meetings. He has not resigned from party. It is demoralising for the cadre.”

Congressmen in Mainpuri were caught off guard when they saw Urmila Singh and Kalicharan Yadav sharing dais with SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav during a rally in the district on November 7. Urmila was Congress candidate from Karhal and Kalicharan had contested from Mainpuri Assembly seat in 2012 and had lost. Both are distant relatives of the SP supremo and were inducted to strengthen Congress in Yadav bastion.

“They did not give resign,but when they shared stage with Mulayam,there was hardly anything left to say,” said Gopal Kumar Kulshrestha,Mainpuri district Congress president Mainpuri.

Among worst affected districts are Badaun and Saharanpur. In Badaun,three senior leaders,who contested Assembly elections as Congress nominee in 2012,have left the party. While Bhagwan Singh Shakya,who had contested from Shekhupura,joined BJP,Ajit Kumar Yadav (Gunnaur) and Shailesh Pathak (Dataganj) shifted base to SP.

Yadav and Shakya had joined Congress from other parties. Union Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma had played a significant role in ensuring ticket for the trio and Rahul Gandhi had addressed a rally in support of Yadav in Gunnaur.

The scene is no better in Saharanpur. Former MLA Imran Masood,nephew of Former Congress MP Rashid Masood,has already been declared SP’s Lok Sabha candidate from Saharanpur,days after he returned to the ruling party in September.

Imran had defected to Congress ahead of the 2012 poll and contested from Nakur. However,when he returned to SP,he took along three other Congressmen — Naresh Saini,Abdul Wahid,and Saleem Ahmad Engineer. Saini,Wahid and Engineer — all considered close to Rashid Masood — contested as Congress nominees from Behat,Saharanpur Dehat and Saharanpur Nagar seats respectively.

In Terai belt,Arvind Giri,in whose support Rahul Gandhi had addressed a gathering in Gola area of Lakhimpur Khiri,has defected to Bahujan Samaj Party and has been named party nominee from Lakhimpur Khiri LS seat.

“During a meeting of all those candidates,who got more than 50,000 votes in assembly elections,was called with Rahul Gandhi,I had said Congress hardly has any cadre base in UP. I got an offer from BSP so I joined them,” Giri told The Indian Express.

In Bundelkand,Brijendra Viyas,who contested from Jhansi; Ramesh Khatik (Mehroni in Lalitpur district) and Shivshankar Patel (Baberu in Banda district) have left the party. While Vyas and Khatik joined BSP,Patel has joined BJP.

In Lucknow,the party candidate from Lucknow central seat,Fakir Siddiqui,joined SP two months ago. Rahul Gandhi had taken out a road show during the assembly polls,giving maximum time to Lucknow central seat in support of Siddiqui,who defeated by SP’s Ravidas Mehrotra.

Siddiqui,a former SP leader had moved to BSP before joining Congress ahead of the assembly polls.

No more Rahul’s men

Congress vice-president had campaigned for Ajit Kumar Yadav in Gunnaur,Fakir Siddiqui in Lucknow central seat and Arvind Giri in Lakhimpur Khiri.

Yadav and Siddiqui defected to SP while Giri has joined BSP SP home for Masood’s four Rashid Masood’s nephew Imran Masood and three others — Naresh Saini,Abdul Wahid,and Saleem Ahmad Engineer — were given Congress tickets on now former MP’s insistence. All have defected to the ruling SP.