Reshuffle in leadership: Protests, resignations trigger in MP Congress
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Bhopal: The Congress party’s state unit in Madhya Pradesh is facing protests across the party ranks after it released a list of 71 district presidents on Saturday.
The long-awaited reshuffle in the party has led to internal discord, protests and resignations in several districts including from Bhopal to Indore, Ujjain and Burhanpur.
In Raghogarh, supporters of ex-chief minister Digvijay Singh’s son Jaivardhan Singh, who is a former minister, came out protesting late night with them burning the effigy of state Congress chief Jitu Patwari.
Singh has been appointed as Guna district president. His supporters alleged that Singh's stature has been reduced.
However in Bhopal it is the reappointment of Praveen Saxena as district president has led to protests after former district president Monu Saxena, a contender, calling out the party’s choice.
Saxena blamed the party leadership for what he said ignoring senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's call for fresh organisation-building.
In Indore, the party’s women's wing chief Sakshi Shukla Daga has questioned the appointment of new city president Chintu Chouksey and district president Vipin Wankhede.
Protest is happening in Ujjain (rural) against appointing Mahesh Parmar and Siddharth Kushwaha in Satna to key positions.
Subsequently many resigned. Also, the party’s district spokesperson and president of the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Cell, Hemant Patil, stepped down in protest.
It is reported that list repeats 21 presidents alongside 37 out 71 are from reserved categories.
The list includes 35 general, 12 OBC, 10 ST, eight SC, four women, and three from minority communities.
Further disappointing grassroots leaders, six MLAs, eight former MLAs and three former ministers were given district level positions.
It is reported that at least 10 loyalists of the former chief minister Kamal Nath made it to the list, suggesting his strong hold over the party, even though Rahul Gandhi supervised the finalization of the list.