Randhawa quits Punjab Congress chief post

He said the district returning officers and the block returning officers had failed to hold elections to the 10,000 primary units of the party in the State.

Demanding free and fair elections, Randhawa said he had brought the matter to the notice of Kesri and party general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad who took no action to remove his grievance.

Pradesh returning officer Prabha Rao who took it as a direct reflection on her functioning, rebutted the charge of bogus polling and maintained that she was satisfied with the election process. The election of the PPCC chief is slated for June 9 next.

Bhattal said she had no ambitions but would abide by the decision of the party. She stressed the need to keep the party united at this juncture.

According to the sources, the supporters of Randhawa had been counselling him to step down in view of the signals given by the party high command to Bhattal a few days back.

Significantly, Randhawa appealed to Sonia Gandhi to come forward to lead the party as she represented the legacy of the Nehru family.

Randhawa, who took over as president of the PPCC in December last, blamed the party high command for non-cooperation and said the high command never constituted the PPCC.

He said he could not be blamed for the rout of the party in the last Vidhan Sabha elections as he had no time to organise the party. He blamed the people at the helms of party affairs for the debacle.

Referring to the party affairs in Punjab, Randhawa said being an old Congressman with unshakeable faith in the democratic process, he could not digest what was going on.

He further said he had informed both Kesri and Azad about his decision to quit and function as a humble worker.

Randhawa said he would welcome Bhattal as his successor.

Describing the resignation as unfortunate, Prabha Rao said Randhawa never complained to her about any irregularity in the poll process. She said she had been receiving other complaints which had been sorted out.

Bhattal saw no wrong in the election process and said in some districts like Amritsar, Bathinda, Sangrur and Moga, the delegates had been elected unanimously. She said Randhawa had taken the step in a hurry which was not expected from such a senior person.

The Congressmen beelined to the residence of Bhattal to assure her of their support. The scene of activity shifted from the Congress Bhavan to her residence.