BHOPAL: Discontent among Congress ranks over the recent formation of council of ministers by Chief Minister Kamal Nath in Madhya Pradesh doesn't seem to be ending.
After tribal outfit Jai Adivasi Yuva Shakti (JAYS) leader and newly elected Congress MLA from Manawar (Dhar) Dr Hiralal Alawa expressed his displeasure over not being made a minister and cautioned about its fallout in next year's Lok Sabha polls, supporters of another MLA (a former minister) are also voicing dissent over their leader not being inducted into the cabinet.
Fresh dissent in Congress has been reported from Morena district of Gwalior-Chambal region, where Madan Sharma, the Bagchini block unit president has sent his resignation to the state party chief and CM Kamal Nath as symbolic protest against his leader and four-time sitting MLA, ex-minister Aidal Singh Kansana not being included in the newly sworn-in cabinet.
In the resignation addressed to Nath, the block level Congress leader from Morena district has mentioned that out of the eight assembly seats that form the Morena-Sheopur Lok Sabha seat, seven have been won by Congress. Out of these seven newly elected legislators, six are first-time winners, while only one Aidal Singh Kansana is a four-time MLA.
"Not making Kansana the minister, has hurt the sentiments of people and Congress workers in Morena district. If the decision of not making Kansana a minister is not changed timely, it could also cast its adverse shadow on results of Morena Lok Sabha seat in 2019," wrote Sharma in his resignation.
While confirming having resigned as Bagchini block unit chief's post, Sharma told The New Indian Express that some more Congress party office bearers from Sumaoli seat and Morena district as a whole might quit their party posts over the issue in the coming days.
Sources within the Congress party in Bhopal said that supporters of some other newly elected MLAs, including Hardip Singh Dang (Suvasra-Mandsaur), Bisahulal Singh (Anuppur) and Hina Kanware (Lanji) too are dejected over their leaders' not finding place in the 28-strong cabinet which was sworn in on Tuesday.
Also, in an important development, newly elected MLA from Burhanpur seat Surendra Singh 'Shera Bhaiya,' who is among the four independent MLAs supporting the Kamal Nath government said in his constituency on Wednesday that "the lifeline of the new government is with us. I'm hopeful of making it to the council of ministers in five days, I'll wait for it before deciding next course of action," he told journalists in Burhanpur.
Four Congress rebels, among them Surendra Singh (Burhanpur), Rana Vikram Singh (Susner), KC Dawar (Bhagwanpura) and Pradeep Jaiswal (Waraseoni), who won the polls as independents are supporting the Kamal Nath government along with two BSP MLAs and one SP MLA.
Only one of the four independent MLAs, Pradeep Jaiswal, who won from Waraseoni seat for the fourth time has been made a minister, while the three other independent MLAs (all first time legislators) were not inducted into the cabinet for being first time MLAs.The three independents, two BSP MLAs and one SP MLA had reportedly met at a government hotel in Bhopal on the day of cabinet swearing-in over not being included in the cabinet.
Importantly, Samajwadi Party chief and ex-UP CM Akhilesh Yadav had on Wednesday expressed his displeasure over his party's lone MLA Rajesh Kumar 'Bablu Bhaiya' not being inducted into the Madhya Pradesh council of ministers. The SP chief also dropped enough hints about keeping Congress out of the anti-BJP Mahagathbandhan planned in UP.
The Congress with 114 seats fell two seats short of 116 simple majority mark after the recent assembly polls, after which seven other MLAs including the four independents, two BSP MLAs and the lone SP MLA supported the Congress in forming the new government in MP.