UP Congress on the wane

A morale booster for the ruling BSP, the Dumariyaganj by-polls has forced leaders of Congress, SP and BJP to mull over their electoral strategy
Pradeep Kapoor Lucknow

Shocked by its poor performance in the recent assembly by-elections in Dumariyaganj (UP), Congress has summoned leaders from UP to New Delhi for discussions. BSP's Khatoon Taufiq, with 44,765 votes, defeated the BJP candidate, Om Prakash Tiwari, by a margin of 15,000 votes. Ashok Singh, the Congress candidate, slipped to the fifth spot with only 19,206 votes. Khatoon Taufiq was fielded by BSP after the death of her husband, Taufiq Ahmad, who was also the sitting MLA. 

Despite Rahul Gandhi's efforts, Congress' fortunes have been on the wane in UP since the May 2009 Lok Sabha elections in which it had won 22 seats. In the 17 assembly by-elections since then, the party could win only one seat: Lucknow (west), where Shyam Kishore Shukla won the seat that BJP had been winning.

Sources reveal that the Congress high command is unhappy with the claim of Rita Bahuguna Joshi, the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president, that the party has managed to retain its share of 12.9 per cent votes even as the BSP's victory was the result of sheer misuse of money and the official machinery. 

Reportedly, senior leaders in New Delhi are upset with leaders from UP, including Jagdambika Pal, MP from Dumariyaganj. The party had spent more than Rs 50 lakh in the constituency to win over the voters. Actress Naghma, and MP and actor Raj Babbar, besides senior leaders, were part of the campaign.   

Also, the Congress high command is concerned about the growing infighting among the leaders in UP. Reportedly, the expulsion of former MLA Akhtar U Ahmad annoyed the Muslims, who did not therefore vote for the Congress. Ahmad was expelled after he accused Pal of being party to the Babri Masjid demolition.

Interestingly, it was the lesser known Peace Party - with a presence in the eastern districts and headed by Dr Ayub, a medical practitioner from Gorakhpur - that has dented the hopes of both SP and Congress. Its candidate, Sachidanand Pandey, got 26,300 votes and ate into the Muslim vote bank of both SP and Congress. In the last assembly elections in 2007, SP's candidate Kamal Yusuf had lost by a narrow margin of 973 votes.