Kesri weeps as Prasada leads rebellion

Apprehensive that Congress president Sitaram Kesri will shortly clip his wings, All India Congress Committee vice-president Jitendra Prasada seems to have raised a banner of revolt by forming a separate panel for the crucial Congress Working Committee election.

However, Kesri's new-found ally and senior party leader Arjun Singh is said to have virtually taken command of the situation from the party chief in order to counter Prasada's moves.

The immediate provocation for Prasada's revolt seems to be Kesri's move to appoint another AICC vice-president to arrest the former's growing importance. Significantly, Prasada is said to have joined hands with Kesri's old foe Sharad Pawar.

The Congress chief's detractors also seem to be pinning their hopes on Sonia Gandhi who attended the plenary session on Saturday. But Kesri's prolonged weeping on the dais and his entreaties to Sonia Gandhi to come up to the rostrum sparked the theory that the crafty party president resorted to stage-acting in order to win the sympathy of Rajiv's widow.

Sonia's presence at the Netaji Indoor Stadium triggered hysteria among the Rajiv loyalists who raised slogans in support of the widow. Expressing happiness at being part of the historic session, Sonia read out her late husband's 1985 speech, hinting that, as desired by Rajiv, the Congress should resort to a mass movement for revitalising the people and the country.

As the rival panels continued their respective strategies to emerge victorious in the election, it seemed certain that there would be cross-voting as many senior party leaders are reported to be upset with the Kesri's directive.

The party president reportedly asked Pradesh Congress Committee and Congress Legislature Party chiefs not file their nomination for the CWC poll.

Sources said the fact that 62 members have filed their nominations indicates that a crisis is brewing. The leaders's resentment may result in cross-voting in the election for the 20-member decision-making body which will have 10 nominated positions.

Significantly, though Arjun Singh is openly backing Kesri, he seems to be keeping his cards close to his chest. With his detractors trying to isolate him, Arjun Singh has already suffered a setback when his resolutions on issues like the Babri Masjid and corruption under the P V Narasimha Rao government had to be diluted.

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