Heads roll in Uttar Pradesh Congress after poor results, electronic media coordinator Zeeshan Haider expelled

LUCKNOW: A day after its poor showing in the state assembly polls, heads have started to roll in the Congress, with the party Friday expelling its electronic media and Urdu press coordinator Zeeshan Haider for allegedly making "derogatory" remarks against the leadership.

"Zeeshan Haider has been removed from all the posts and expelled from the party for six years," said a letter issued by Shyam Kishore Shukla, a member of the disciplinary committee.

After the party's dismal showing in the polls, Haider, in an interaction with the media on Thursday, had blamed people close to Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi for the poor performance.

"It has come to the notice of the disciplinary committee of the party that you have made derogatory remarks against the party leadership through social media and newspapers which have tarnished the image of the party. This action of yours comes under the ambit of indiscipline," the letter said.

Haider claimed he had not said anything against Priyanka Gandhi but had blamed a handful of people having roots in the Jawaharlal Nehru University for "misleading her and selling tickets".

"These people have not done anything on the ground and all the leaders who have left the party in the recent past had done so because of the personal assistant of Priyanka ji and his cronies," he told PTI.

"In the recent past, 30 former MPs, legislators and leaders have left the party and every one of them will tell how they left the party because of the same people. Priyanka ji should also know that it is because of these people that the party is in such a bad shape today," he said.

He said he has been been expelled for stating the truth but "I will continue to do so".

He said he was not even given a chance to clarify his position on the statement which is being attributed as the reason of his expulsion.

The party has forfeited deposits on 380 seats of the 403 seats, he said.

Two leaders resigned on Friday and more will follow, Haider added.

In the worst-ever performance in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections, the Congress won just two seats and its vote share was reduced to 2.33 per cent from 6.25 per cent in the 2017 polls, when it had won seven seats.

Even the Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Ajay Kumar Lallu faced a humiliating defeat from Tamkuhi Raj seat of Kushinagar and stood third behind BJP and SP candidates.