United we wobble

Congress scion and party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's day-long visit to Madhya Pradesh to kick off the campaign for the upcoming Assembly polls was unique in more ways than one. For the deeply faction-ridden state Congress unit, it was a rare show of unity with party leaders Digvijay Singh, Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia present on the dais along with Gandhi at his rally in Shahdol. It is no secret that the enmity between these top leaders was exacerbated after Scindia was named the party's campaign committee chairman for the state last month. However, with Rahul Gandhi now handling affairs in the Congress, the party is attempting to present a united front in its bid to wrest power from the Bharatiya Janata Party's Shivraj Singh Chouhan. But, say Congress insiders, these "shows of unity" are suspect considering that earlier this week, several Congress leaders backed by a senior state Congress leader attempted to stonewall both Kamal Nath and Scindia from playing any role in ticket distribution on the grounds that they were not members of the state screening committee.