Infighting in UP Congress after poll debacle

Infighting in Congress in the wake of its electoral debacle in Uttar Pradesh came out in the open with PCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi today saying that there should no blame-game when the party is in crisis.

She was responding to allegations made by party MP from Sultanpur, Sanjay Singh that neither the party nor several of the candidates from Amethi wanted him to campaign during the polls. His wife Ameeta Singh lost to an SP candidate in the district.

"The whole party cadre was collectively responsible for the showing in the state. It is wrong to indulge in a blame- game at this moment when the party is in crisis, and it was the duty of the MP to campaign," Joshi said reporters here.

She said leaders at the local level acted "irresponsibly" and there was a "lot of sabotage" within the party at that level.

"However, sabotage at the local level was not the only reason for the party's defeat as it was in the case of many parties," she said.

Joshi said that she was going to Delhi tomorrow and will meet UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi in a day or two.

When asked about her resignation in the face of poor performance of the Congress in the polls, she said that the matter will be discussed in the meeting.

Earlier, Singh said, "It is unfortunate (that he did not campaign), but neither the party, nor the candidates wanted me to be there...So I didn't go."

He said, "Candidates didn't feel that I being a Member of Parliament is going to help. They thought they themselves were enough.

"These gentlemen who were made candidates in my five segments opposed me. I was of the view they may lose or that there was no candidate who could win in these five segments."