JAIPUR: With yet another resignation, this time by a veteran tribal leader, the unrest and disappointment persist within the Chhattisgarh unit of the Congress following the defeat the party faced in the recent Assembly polls.
Nand Kumar Sai, 77, who resigned from the BJP after a 45-year old association with the saffron party, joined the Congress in May this year. The BJP stalwart switching allegiance then to the ruling party in an election year was cited as a significant political development.
He was a popular tribal face for the BJP and the Centre had appointed him as the chairman of National Commission for Scheduled Tribes in 2017. Sai on Wednesday cited the existing circumstances as the reason behind his decision to resign from the primary membership of the party as conveyed to the state Congress president Deepak Baij. Incidentally, Nand Kumar Sai and chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai are both from Jashpur and had represented the BJP from Tapkara Assembly constituency on different occasions in the undivided Madhya Pradesh.
A three-time Lok Sabha member and three-time MLA, Sai while joining the Congress had claimed that he was deeply pained to see the BJP as created by Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani no longer existed. He was also a member of Rajya Sabha twice.
Earlier, ex-MLA Chunnilal Sahu tendered his resignation as the state vice-president of Congress, underlining dejection after the party’s unexpected defeat. Two-time legislator and chief of Dudhadhari Matha (Hindu monastery) Mahant Ramsundar Das who lost to BJP’s Brijmohan Agrawal in Raipur-south constituency by a record margin and another ex-MLA Mohit Kerkatta who represented Pali-Tanakhar seat have already resigned from the primary membership.
Post-defeat, the Congress party has been witnessing turmoil with many party leaders and cadres engaged in serious arguments, blaming each other for the loss. The party expelled two former MLAs on grounds of anti-party activities and accusing senior Congress leaders for the poll drubbing.
Blame game for Cong
Post-defeat, the Congress has seen turmoil with many party leaders and cadres engaged in arguments, blaming each other for the loss. The party expelled two ex-MLAs for anti-party activities and poll drubbing.