06-07-2005, 07:02 AM
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<b>Poor show by Cong. in U.P. reveals waning popularity</b>
<i>Party candidates from all the four by-poll seats lost their deposits</i>
LUCKNOW: Infighting and organisational weaknesses took its toll on the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh as all the party candidates from the four seats which went to polls recently, lost their deposits.
The dismal performance has not only revealed the party's waning popularity among the masses, but given rise to bickerings in the party rank and file.
Congress candidate from Allahabad (West), once a Congress bastion owing to the <b>Nehru-Gandhi family legacy, secured only 660 votes</b>, much less than the votes secured by an independent candidate from the same constituency.
Although senior party functionaries alleged misuse of official machinery and large scale rigging responsible for the victory of ruling coalition candidates, none of them have an answer to the dismal performance of the Congress nominees.
The maximum votes polled for Congress was at Khairagarh assembly seat where it stood at 11,663, while in Varanasi (North) 9,207 votes and Haisner Bazar (reserved) seat the candidate polled 2,232 votes.
The low vote percentage has also laid bare the hollow claims of its membership drive that preceded the organisational elections.
Commenting on the poor performance in Allahabad seat, a senior Congress leader said, "If the party had constituted its units at even 200 polling booth in the constituency, there should have been at least 10,000 primary Congress members in Allahabad (West) and the party candidate would have stood third if only the primary members had voted."
Some Congressmen even assert the bypolls outcome speaks badly on the manner in which State party leaders handled the by-elections.
They maintain the Congress was the last to announce the names of its candidates, which was one of the reason for the debacle.
Other major political parties had completed their preliminary rounds of preparations when the Congress was conducting the exercise of selection of candidates. No serious efforts were made even after that.
"Senior party bosses were busy giving final touches to their nominees on the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) list when campaigning was at its peak," a party leader commented.
In May-end, when leaders of all the political parties were launching attacks on their political rivals while campaigning for their party candidates, the Congress leaders were targeting each other to settle scores during organisational elections, party leaders lamented.
A few days before the June 2 polling, although UPCC president Salman Khurshid announced he would not file his nomination papers to seek re-election and devote time to concentrate on the by-polls, it was probably too late, they said. -- UNI
<b>Poor show by Cong. in U.P. reveals waning popularity</b>
<i>Party candidates from all the four by-poll seats lost their deposits</i>
LUCKNOW: Infighting and organisational weaknesses took its toll on the Congress Party in Uttar Pradesh as all the party candidates from the four seats which went to polls recently, lost their deposits.
The dismal performance has not only revealed the party's waning popularity among the masses, but given rise to bickerings in the party rank and file.
Congress candidate from Allahabad (West), once a Congress bastion owing to the <b>Nehru-Gandhi family legacy, secured only 660 votes</b>, much less than the votes secured by an independent candidate from the same constituency.
Although senior party functionaries alleged misuse of official machinery and large scale rigging responsible for the victory of ruling coalition candidates, none of them have an answer to the dismal performance of the Congress nominees.
The maximum votes polled for Congress was at Khairagarh assembly seat where it stood at 11,663, while in Varanasi (North) 9,207 votes and Haisner Bazar (reserved) seat the candidate polled 2,232 votes.
The low vote percentage has also laid bare the hollow claims of its membership drive that preceded the organisational elections.
Commenting on the poor performance in Allahabad seat, a senior Congress leader said, "If the party had constituted its units at even 200 polling booth in the constituency, there should have been at least 10,000 primary Congress members in Allahabad (West) and the party candidate would have stood third if only the primary members had voted."
Some Congressmen even assert the bypolls outcome speaks badly on the manner in which State party leaders handled the by-elections.
They maintain the Congress was the last to announce the names of its candidates, which was one of the reason for the debacle.
Other major political parties had completed their preliminary rounds of preparations when the Congress was conducting the exercise of selection of candidates. No serious efforts were made even after that.
"Senior party bosses were busy giving final touches to their nominees on the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) list when campaigning was at its peak," a party leader commented.
In May-end, when leaders of all the political parties were launching attacks on their political rivals while campaigning for their party candidates, the Congress leaders were targeting each other to settle scores during organisational elections, party leaders lamented.
A few days before the June 2 polling, although UPCC president Salman Khurshid announced he would not file his nomination papers to seek re-election and devote time to concentrate on the by-polls, it was probably too late, they said. -- UNI