UP: Senior Congress leaders unhappy over being sidelined, to meet Sonia Gandhi

Senior Congress leaders from Uttar Pradesh have decided to meet Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi after being sidelined in the state politics. The leaders had reached New Delhi on Thursday on the eve of the birth anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru. The issue has cropped up after the Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra revamped the party's state-level functioning after taking the charge. The senior Congress leaders are seemingly unhappy with fresh faces being given more responsibilities by replacing the veteran leaders.

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As many as 12 senior leaders met at the residence of the former Member of Parliament Santosh Singh in Gomti Nagar. Former ministers and party leaders Ramkishan Dwivedi, Satyadev Tripathi, Sawampraksh Goswami, Rajendra Singh Solanki, Vinod Choudhry, Nekchand Pandey, and Siraj Mehdi were also present at the meeting. The senior leaders alleged that people who had no links with the party have been given crucial posts and attempts have been made to ally with other parties that are affecting the Congress party.

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Leaders to complain to Sonia Gandhi

The senior leaders have decided to bring this issue to the notice of Sonia Gandhi that the workers who served Congress for more than about 40 years were sidelined because of their age while some leaders also alleged that they were repeatedly ignored in the party. One of the leaders and former MLA Bhudhar Narayan Mishra has opined that it has been prevailing over the past 10-15 years and Uttar Pradesh's Congress did not involve the senior leaders in any major party decisions.

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In the by-elections held in October this year for 11 constituencies, the Congress has witnessed a substantial rise in its vote share, however, it failed to win a single seat. Out of the total 11 seats that went to polls, eight seats went to the BJP and its allies and three went to the Samajwadi Party.

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(With inputs from agencies)