news details |
|
|
| All gang up for Yash Pal | | Congress in tight spot, Peerzada under fire | | Early Times Reporter
Jammu | Nov 29
Putting the Congress in a piquant situation even though the Peoples Democratic Party cleared the field for ally in Poonch, many parties are covertly joining hands to ensure victory of Congress rebel Yashpal Sharma.
"For Sharma, the field was never so smooth as it is today", a senior Congress leader told EARLY TIMES while regretting the party decision on fielding Jahangir Mir as its nominee to contest the assembly by-polls in Poonch-Haveli constituency. He admitted that the options were not fully weighed and threat perception of rebellion was not analyzed while taking decision on the nominee. Pleading anonymity, the Congress leader squarely blamed PCC Chief Peerzada Mohammad Sayeed for lack of seriousness.
Many sources in Panthers Party, BJP and other state units of national parties have indicated that they are in a mood to support Sharma to defeat the official nominee of Congress. Even though the BJP has fielded its candidate in the fray, but the mood was evident from a statement by a top BJP leader who said today "since Congress is our number one enemy and the National Conference our number two political foe we may not hesitate to go for any understanding in order to ensure defeat of our two rival political parties."
In fact inside reports suggested that soon after Yesh Pal Sharma filed his nomination papers as an independent candidate in Pooch constituency he had been motivated by the BJP leaders not to succumb to the pressure mounted by the Congress leaders on him for withdrawing from the contest.
The leadership of the state unit of the BJP may simply keep the party man as a dummy candidate and pool all its resources for the success of Sharma. The BJP has its pockets of influence in the Pooch town which has over 75 per cent of Hindu population and the Sangh Parivar is getting ready to garner the support of this section of voters for Yash Pal Sharma.
Spokesman of the PCC said that the Congress high command had accepted the recommendation of Chief Minister, Ghulam Nabi Azad, nominating Jehangir Mir as the party candidate. He said no doubt Sharma had lost the 2002 poll by a small margin of 643 votes,but his nomination as Congress candidate could have triggered communal polarization that could have benefited the National Conference. He said that Jehangir Mir was not a novice. He had been general secretary youth Congress when Mr Azad was the President of the All India youth Congress. The spokesman said that Mir could get sizeable number of votes from the rural belt of the Pooch constituency whereas Sharma could have got support only from the town.
What went against Sharma was that the Congress high command treated him as a political turncoat as he had,years ago,quit the congress to join Jana Morcha and then Janata Dal.The spokesman said that it was Ghulam Nabi Azad who had helped Sharma to reenter congress.One thing is clear that if the BJP failed to muster the support of its entire vote bank for Sharma the NC candidate, Aijaz Jaan could be a black horse. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
