The Congress party in Chhattisgarh is heading for a split with former chief minister Ajit Jogi set to float a new party on Monday.
The Congress party in Chhattisgarh is heading for a split with former chief minister Ajit Jogi set to float a new party on Monday.
The Congress Working Committee member is set to announce the name of the new party at a gathering of his supporters at Kotmi in Chhattisgarh’s Bilash-pur district on Monday.
Sources close to Mr Jogi claimed that prominent state Congress leaders who were expected to join the proposed party included a sitting MLA and half-a-dozen former legislators.
However, the AICC on Sunday indicated they would take action against Mr Jogi if he announces to float a new party on June 6. The party has adopted a “wait and watch” approach as technically, Mr Jogi is still in the Congress. This is because he has neither resigned from the party nor has the latter taken disciplinary action.
“Since he is a Congress working committee member and a senior party leader, he knows his responsibility. We will wait and watch Monday’s meeting. Let us see what the follow-up is,” party general secretary B.K. Hariprasad, who is in charge of party affairs in the state, said.
He replied in the negative when asked whether AICC had sent any leader to talk to Mr Jogi. Another senior leader also said “wait for a day”.
The Congress is in no mood to placate the former chief minister who has been wanting to complete control over the Congress in Chhattisgarh in the name of his loyalty to Sonia Gandhi.
A Rahul Gandhi loyalist said Mr Jogi’s dissension against the Congress has benefited chief minister Raman Singh in the last three Assembly elections.
Mr Jogi has convened a meeting of his supporters in his native Marwahi on Monday, where he is likely to announce his decision to quit the Congress and float a new party.
Speculation about Mr Jogi forming a new outfit has been rife since January, when his son and Marwahi MLA Amit Jogi was expelled by the state unit of Congress for allegedly “fixing” a byelection in 2014.
Mr Jogi was also served a notice by the party when some of his and his son’s purported conversations to “fix” the byelection were “leaked” to the media.
Mr Jogi has been sidelined by the state unit of Congress, led by Patan MLA Bhupesh Baghel and the Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly T.S. Singh Deo.
Quite a few people in the AICC feel that Mr Jogi quitting the party will be a “good riddance”.
There have been constant allegations that Mr Jogi had sabotaged the party’s prospects often and helped Raman Singh remain in power.
