NEW DELHI, May 19: The formal appointment of N D Tiwari as Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee chief has been put off for fear of a split in the state unit. A section of the UP Congress Legislature Party, led by Pramod Tiwari, is said to be all set to desert the Congress in the event of Tiwari's reappointment as the state party chief.Congress president Sonia Gandhi had held a series of consultations with senior UP leaders, including N Tiwari and working committee member Jitendra Prasada, about two weeks ago and clearly indicated her choice. But a formal announcement was withheld as Pramod Tiwari is understood to have met a couple of CWC members and indicated that he might even join the Bharatiya Janata Party in the state if Tiwari was reappointed.Tiwari had resigned as the state party chief in March following the party's rout in the recent Parliamentary elections. But Sonia is said to have indicated to the state leaders that he was still the ``best available choice'' before the party.AICC generalsecretary Tariq Anwar, who is in charge of UP affairs, denied any such move on the part of Pramod Tiwari. ``The issue is before Sonia Gandhi. A decision may come only after the by-elections to the seven Assembly constituencies in the state on June 3,'' he said.According to UP Congress sources, Pramod Tiwari has already got feelers from the state BJP, including some ministers, especially as the fate of the Kalyan Singh Government is somewhat uncertain in the wake of the Supreme Court taking cognisance of the case related to the status of 19 BSP MLAs who had left their original party and floated a new outfit to support the BJP Government.If Pramod Tiwari carries out his threat, it would mean that at least five Congress MLAs would move to the BJP camp. The CLP is now left with 15 members and Tiwari would require at least one-third of that to escape disqualification as a member of the Assembly under the Anti-Defection Act.
