SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, Dec 8: Congress candidates of Dhanbad and Jamshedpur who lost in the assembly elections skipped the review meetings of the state party conveyed at both places respectively today.
On the directive of the high command, the state party unit sent a committee comprising senior leaders to Dhanbad and Jamshedpur to review the reasons for the candidates’ defeat in the November assembly elections.
But surprisingly, neither the defeated Congress candidates of Dhanbad nor Jamshedpur turned up before the committee at the meeting.
In Dhanbad, the Congress had contested three seats – Dhanbad Sadar ( Ajay Dubey), Jharia ( Purnima Singh) and Baghmara ( Jaleshwar Mahto) and the party lost all these seats.
Today, three members state committee under coordinator Shahjada Anwar ( former state working president), former MLA Raja Rajendra Pratap Singh Deo, and state general secretary Baljit Singh Bedi reached Dhanbad for a review meeting. All trio defeated candidates were informed earlier.
The meeting was called at Utsav Bhawan. The committee members waited for a long time but Ajay Dubey, Purnima Singh and Jaleshwar Mahto did not appear.
Coordinator Shahjada Anwar underplaying the committee’s embarrassment told media persons that all trio were engaged in their respective constituency and will submit their report.
Also Read: Defeated Cong candidates skip review meeting in Dhanbad, Jamshedpur
But member Baljit Singh Bedi expressed his resentment over the absence of defeated candidates and said that, unfortunately, a meeting was called for whom they did not appear.
Meeting fiasco in Jamshedpur too
State observers had to face a similar situation in Jamshedpur where the Cong lost both the seats, Jamshedpur East ( Dr Ajay Kumar) and Jamshedpur West ( health minister Banna Gupta).
Three members state party committee comprising senior leader and state Disciplinary Committee chairman Brajendra Prasad Singh, Alok Dubey and Rama Khalko reached Jamshedpur for a review meeting.
But surprisingly, neither Dr Ajay Kumar nor Banna Gupta turned up at the meeting. All three members of the state committee waited for them for hours but they neither appeared nor sent any message about their appearance.
A senior Cong leader said that since they had already faced defeat in the elections, they skipped the review meeting to avoid further humiliation before leaders.
