Fissures in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Congress came to light on Thursday when senior leaders Digvijaya Singh and Jyotiraditya Scindia engaged in a verbal duel over ticket distribution in the presence of party chief Rahul Gandhi.
The two leaders, who have been asked to pick candidates for the November 28 elections in Madhya Pradesh, sparred over the choice of candidates when Gandhi was visiting the state for a poll campaign.
A news channel reported that the argument forced the Congress chief to set up a three-member committee with Ashok Gehlot, Veerappa Moily and Ahmed Patel to resolve the crisis.
The dispute comes amid reports that the grand old party has been unable to lock down on a chief ministerial candidate in the state, though Scindia and senior leader Kamal Nath are unofficially touted to be the party’s faces for the post.
The infighting in the party escalated after reports suggested that Digvijaya Singh was unhappy with being sidelined by the leadership.
Soon after Gandhi concluded his two-day poll campaign in the state, a letter reportedly written by Singh to Sonia Gandhi wherein he is asking for tickets for 57 candidates for the upcoming elections created a stir on social media.
In the letter dated October 27, Singh complains about being ignored by the party and accuses the Central Election Committee of running a racket over ticket distribution. He also asks for tickets for 57 candidates, terming them dedicated workers of the party who are not aligned with any party faction and are apprehensive of denial of ticket.
The senior party leader has, however, denied writing the letter. “What a fraud! I have never written this letter,” he posted on Twitter on Tuesday night. The letter came at a time when Singh’s absence from Gandhi’s public meetings during his trip to the Malwa-Nimar region raised eyebrows.
He also took to Twitter on Thursday to rubbish reports about the rift with Scindia, saying the state unit "is one".
It is being wrongly reported in press that I and Jyotiraditya Scindhia ji had any arguement and Rahul ji had to intervene. All of us in MP Congress are one and determined to defeat the corrupt BJP Govt in MP. — digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) 1 November 2018
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