After its rout in the Lok Sabha elections in April-May this year, the Congress Party faces a revolt in states like Maharashtra and Assam, which may now spread to Haryana in the coming days. This is seen as a major challenge to the party high command ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in these states.
While Maharashtra and Haryana are expected to go to the polls in October-November this year, the Assam polls are likely in 2016. The Congress is in power in all these three states.
The AICC, however, has said that the resignations of two senior ministers in Maharashtra and Assam opposing the CMs was a matter of “personal ambition” that “cannot be accommodated”.
While chief ministers Prithviraj Chavan and Tarun Gogoi are yet to take a call on the resignations of Narayan Rane and Himanta Biswas Sarma from the Cabinets, it will be interesting to see if the high command takes decisions under pressure or finds a way out at the last minute.
“This is certainly a crisis,” a party official said, admitting that the high command was not in a position to replace Mr Chavan, Mr Gogoi or Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda. The party had won two seats in Maharashtra, three in Assam and just one seat in Haryana in the Lok Sabha elections.
Insiders said the current revolt was just a precursor, the real challenge would come after the Assembly polls.
Maharashtra industries minister Narayan Rane, who was groomed and trained in politics in the Shiv Sena, cannot remain silent after resigning from the Prithviraj Chavan government. He is suggesting that the party make him chief minister and fight the Assembly polls under his leadership.
In Guwahati, health and education minister Himanta Biswas Sarma, a onetime confidant of Mr Gogoi, met state governor J.B. Patnaik and submitted his resignation. He claimed he met the governor along with 27 MLAs and expressed no confidence in the CM. Assam goes to the polls in less than two years.
Both the state ministers had resigned once earlier recently but were persuaded to withdraw. Mr Sarma said this time he won’t withdraw the resignation and made it clear he will not contest the polls under Mr Gogoi’s leadership.
Addressing a press conference in Mumbai after giving his resignation, Mr Rane, a bitter Prithviraj Chavan critic and an influential Konkan area leader, mounted a bitter attack on the CM, accusing him of slow decision-making and lack of control over the administration.
“Decisions relating to the people’s work are not taken quickly. There is no control over the administration. The slow administration affects people’s work and the dissatisfaction was manifest in the Lok Sabha polls,” Mr Rane said, adding: “I don’t want to be a partner in the defeat in the Assembly polls, that’s why I have quit.”
Mr Rane, an aspirant for the CM’s post for long, also voiced displeasure with the Congress central leadership. “I was told I will be made CM in six months. But in nine years, the promise has not been kept,” he said. He had earlier publicly claimed he had been assured of the CM’s post when he quit the Shiv Sena to join the Congress in 2005.
“Not a single associate who came with me to the Congress was made a legislator,” added Mr Rane, a former Shiv Sena CM. But he declared that he would not leave the Congress.
“The CM has informed me he will speak to Sonia Gandhi and revert to me. I will announce my next move after that,” he said.
In Guwahati, Himanta Biswas Sarma and a group of party MLAs opposed Mr Gogoi’s leadership met the governor on Monday as the minister put in his papers. “Around 27 MLAs went with me to Raj Bhavan, but it was my private journey. I have no confidence in Tarun Gogoi’s leadership. We are fighting for our party and under Gogoi’s leadership the Congress will come down to single digits in 2016,” he said.
“Absolute madness prevails and there is no direction under Gogoi. Continuing under Tarun Gogoi is not feasible politically, mentally and physically. It is not advisable. That is why I decided to resign. I will also send my resignation to the chief minister,” he added.
In Mumbai, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said: “I will go through his (Rane’s) genuine and concrete grievances and take a decision accordingly.” He had earlier tweeted: “Narayan Rane met me this morning and tendered his resignation from the council of ministers. He had earlier submitted his resignation on the day of the election result which I did not accept. He assured me that he will continue to be in the Congress Party.”
In New Delhi, AICC spokesman Abhishek Singhvi, when asked about the growing dissension in Maharashtra, Assam, Haryana and Jammu and Kashmir, said: “This issue is of personal ambition and the need for a post... It cannot be accommodated. The Congress is a national party. A stand has been taken openly or otherwise. Nothing more needs to be said,” he said, signalling no one can extract a decision from the high command under pressure or by giving deadlines.
He was also asked about the reported attack by Chaudhary Birender Singh on Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda and about the resignation of former state minister Lal Singh in Jammu and Kashmir.
Mr Singhvi scoffed at suggestions that these were a jolt to the Congress and that they reflected a challenge to the high command. He also frowned on the tendency to put the blame on Rahul Gandhi for various problems.
A senior party leader, who declined to be identified, said it was a fact that if Assembly elections were held within six months of the Lok Sabha polls, that were swept by the BJP, this was bound to have an impact on the state polls. In that scenario, changing a chief minister in a state like Maharashtra did not make much sense, he added.
Another senior leader Kamal Nath, speaking separately, downplayed Mr Sarma’s resignation in Assam. “While the issue is that some people would not be happy with the chief minister, the majority of them are with the chief minister,” Mr Nath said.