Meet Krishna Allavaru part of Congress party in Bihar
Despite the nominations for the second phase of Bihar polls having ended on Monday, the seat-sharing deal amid the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress is still not finalised.
The deadlock reportedly triggered because Krishna Allavaru, the Congress’s Bihar in-charge, took a tough stand amidst seat-sharing talks.
It’s learned that a section within the Congress is unhappy with Allavaru’s role in the alliance talks and ticket distribution, a fact amply made clear by Katihar MP Tariq Anwar who questioned the ticket distribution process. Bihar Congress research wing head Anand Madhav, former MLA Gajanand Shahi are among local leaders who resigned in protest.
On Wednesday evening, Allavaru along with Congress state president Rajesh Ram and legislature party leader Shakeel Ahmad Khan encountered protests at Patna airport when party workers clashed over allegations of favouritism and ticket sales.
Several issues led to the tussle, and Allavaru refused to compromise. As per a senior Bihar leader involved in seat negotiations told the media that RJD was willing to offer 55 seats to the Congress, but Allavaru insisted on 61.
Reportedly “Lalganj, Vaishali, Bachhwara, Rosera, Bihar Sharif, and Gaura Bauram are the seats where the Congress wants to contest, even though the RJD is either fielding its candidates or leaving them for the Left parties. As a result, a friendly fight is likely there.
On Monday, the RJD released its list of 143 candidates on the last day of nominations for the second and final phase of the Bihar elections. The Congress has announced 60 candidates.
Another sticking point is the Mahagatbandhan’s chief ministerial face as the RJD is keen on Tejashwi Yadav leading the alliance. “The second phase of nominations is almost over; no announcement has been made yet. Allavaru didn’t want any such declaration from the Congress side.
A senior party functionary told the media that the party symbol was distributed sans even informing senior leaders. Their alliance deal with the RJD remained uncertain until the very last moment, which didn’t send a good message before polling.
Bihar Congress spokesperson Gyan Ranjan, however, skipped any mention of unease regarding the party in-charge for Bihar.
He told the media that soon after taking charge as state i
In-charge (in February), Allavaru began energising the party cadre. He not only planned yatras but also launched the Ghar Ghar Jhanda campaign, encouraging party workers to hoist the Congress flag on their doors or rooftops. A GPS-based monitoring system was introduced to track the campaign’s progress.
Allavaru over the past six months, has made every effort to mobilise grassroots workers.
He keeps a low-profile and puts party workers on priority. In the first list of candidates, there isn’t a single leader’s son or daughter. He prioritised those who have been active on the ground. That is why we got those seats this time, which we wanted to contest.”
News Edit KV Raman
