NEW DELHI/RANCHI : Bihar was in focus on Friday as the Congress held a brainstorming session with its state leaders and dismissed reports that its six newly elected MLAs were preparing to desert the party. Jharkhand too saw churn the same day, with five disgruntled Congress MLAs meeting party president Mallikarjun Kharge to press for a review of ministerial berths and functioning.
The Bihar meeting, convened by Kharge at his residence, was attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the six MLAs, and senior state leaders. The Congress had won six seats after contesting around 60 in the recent Assembly elections.
Venugopal rejected speculation that the MLAs would join the JD(U), saying, “There were rumours that all our MLAs are deserting our party. But all our MLAs were present at today’s meeting. These are all bogus news. These types of rumours being spread against the Congress are completely baseless.” The rumours had gained ground after some MLAs skipped state-level meetings and discussions on MGNREGA issues.
AICC in-charge of Bihar Krishna Allavaru, and leaders Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Ranjeet Ranjan, Kanhaiya Kumar, and Madan Mohan Jha were present. Though the meeting was expected to discuss the selection of the Congress Legislature Party leader, sources said it did not.
According to sources, Gandhi appeared upset throughout the nearly two-hour meeting. “The meeting was called to project unity,” said a source, adding that Gandhi was not in the mood to listen. Independent MP Pappu Yadav briefly visited Kharge’s residence earlier, returned, and later came back after speaking to Congress leaders, as his name had initially been missing from the invite list.
In Jharkhand, MLAs Rajesh Kachhap, Bhushan Bara, Naman Vixal Kongari, Sonaram Sinku, and Suresh Baitha first met state in-charge K Raju and KC Venugopal before calling on Kharge. Coming out openly, they said all four Congress ministers had failed to perform and should remember they were “just MLAs like them”. “The four ministers are not working the way they should have worked,” Baitha said, alleging they were being sidelined.
Kachhap said ministers must not act in a special way, stressed organisational loyalty, and sought a review and possible reshuffle. The MLAs also flagged the failure to form boards and corporations a year after government formation, and resentment over key portfolios, including finance minister Radha Krishna Kishore, minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey under the ST quota, and Irfan Ansari’s elevation amid controversy. They also questioned decisions taken by the party high command.
Top leaders in the huddle
The Bihar meeting, which was convened by party president Mallikarjun Kharge at his residence, was attended by Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, the six MLAs, and senior state leaders.