Campaigning For Congress Chiefs Post Intensifies

Congress leader Sharad Pawars backers complained yesterday that they had not yet been given the list of PCC delegates who comprise the electoral college for the election of a party president. What kind of election is this, fumed G Venkatswamy, the partys deputy floor leader in the Lok Sabha.

However, Pawar and his backers continued to seriously canvas support for him, predicting that many state party leaders, who were overtly committed to party president Sitaram Kesri, would not finally vote for him. Among those covertly backing Pawar were Digvijay Singh, ND Tiwari and ML Fotedar, party insiders claimed.

However, other well-informed party leaders dismissed Pawars prospects, saying he would not win more than 20 per cent of the votes.

 

Pawar had apparently been willing to withdraw if Sonia Gandhi made a statement favouring consensus. However, she refused when it became clear that Rajesh Pilot, the third candidate, would not follow suit.

Kesris backers continued to keep many of the lists of delegates under wraps and there was much talk in party circles of names being changed well after the elections were supposed to be over.

Both Pawar and Pilot yesterday spoke, in the course of their tours to Guwahati and Ahmedabad respectively, of the need to regain the Congress secular image.

Kesri meanwhile said he would not tell his supporters whom to give their second preference votes in the Congress presidential election.

The party constitution mandates that, with more than two candidates in the fray, each voter must register a second preference for his vote to be valid.

It all depends upon the voter. How can I tell them whom to give the second preference votes, he said.

In an apparent disapproval of the manner of campaigning by his challengers, Kesri said that internal cordiality is very essential for the party polls and pointed out that the exercise was confined only to the electoral college of the party.

I am not expected to cross the line laid down by our great leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru, he said adding that he had already made it clear that he would not be visiting any state for campaigning.

Asked about the acrimony in the campaigning, he said that nothing has been done from his side.

He said the current organisational polls were being held for the first time since independence when the part was not in power.