Crisis hit Congress, upbeat BJP gear up for assembly elections

The Congress is feeling the heat as the party is locked in a severe infighting in Maharashtra and Haryana, two states which go to elections on October 21.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, on the other hand, has planned mega campaign rallies in both states to be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah.
The prime minister is set to address four rallies in Haryana and nine in Maharashtra, while Shah will hit the campaign trail after the Dussehra festival.
Saffron units in both states have been galvanised to make all arrangements to ensure the success of these public meetings.
The Congress, on the other hand, is mired in internal conflicts and the party’s star campaigner Rahul Gandhi too is missing in action after reportedly flying to an unknown destination on Saturday.
However, sources in the party said that Gandhi will campaign in the two poll-bound states.
Given the present backdrop, the Congress is relying on party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to lead the charge in campaigning for the upcoming assembly elections.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh will also campaign for the party and is likely to pose some serious questions on the economic slowdown facing the country.
Congress’s interim president Sonia Gandhi may not be able to address many rallies, but will make her presence in both states, a party leader said.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and former Haryana finance minister Sampat Singh resigned from the party yesterday.
Though he is yet to announce his next move, speculation is rife that Singh, who had a meeting with BJP leader and Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Sunday, may join the ruling party.
“Either I am not fit for the Congress, or the Congress is not fit for me. I am quitting the Congress,” he told reporters in Hisar.
Singh said that he had helped the Congress form the government in Haryana in 2009, but he was not given his due.
Announcing his resignation, Singh said he took the decision after realising that he was not needed there.
He said he was upset with former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda for not intervening in ticket allocation in Hisar district.
According to him, at least 40 strong party candidates were ignored at the time of ticket allocation.
Asked if he would join any other party, Singh said: “I was contacted by a former colleague, but was not in a position to take a decision.”
In 2009, Singh resigned from the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) and joined the Congress.
In Panaji, president of the Congress women’s wing Pratima Coutinho denied reports that she was planning join the BJP.
Coutinho’s comments came a day after Congress MLA Aleixo Reginaldo said he was hurt by the actions of his party, even as BJP leader Chief Minister Pramod Sawant praised him for doing a good job as an opposition legislator.
Coutinho said yesterday that the social media posts which claimed she would quit the Congress soon were baseless.
“I will never leave the Congress party. I am here to stay,” Coutinho said at a press conference in Panaji.