Tribal, OBC leaders led Congress poll battle in Chhattisgarh and yet it lost: Jharkhand PCC chief

THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK

Daltonganj, Dec 11: Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur today said that elections are not won on a face only.

“It is on issues. Congress has genuine issues that concern common people. And this is our strength,” he added.

He said, “Sometimes faces not known much spring spectacular poll result. There are many examples when a debutant politician has routed the veteran.”

On his critics’ demand to change the party’s leadership in Jharkhand after the party’s defeat in Chhattisgarh, Thakur said, “I am trying to consolidate the base of the party to the village level. I don’t care about what the ‘whisper group’ talk about. I wish everyone should speak about how to make Congress a formidable force at the election.”

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Thakur speaking to this correspondent said, “Do our critics know the chemistry of the Congress in Chhattisgarh? The chief minister of ours there was an OBC.”

“Again, the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president was Deepak Baij, a versatile tribal leader,” added Thakur.

He said, “Before Deepak Baij the Congress was led by Mohan Markam, another tribal leader. He was elevated to become a minister by Bhupesh Baghel only in the second half of this year.  So, it was a series of tribal faces that launched the Congress into the poll battle. What happened there?”

“You can’t afford to shut your eyes to the ground reality,” Thakur opined.

The Congress suffered huge losses in the tribal land of Chhattisgarh when its team leader was a tribal there, reiterated Thakur.

The Congress chief went on to say, “Can any of my detractors deny that the political relation between Bhupesh Baghel and T S Singh Deo in Chhattisgarh was more and more caustic than any even near cordial.” T S Singh Deo lost the election by 90 plus votes.

Again, there are 29 tribal assembly seats in Chhattisgarh where the Congress lost 18 of them by winning only 11 seats.

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Thakur repeated, “The wipeout of the Congress in the tribal seats when at the command were tribal party president and minister like Mohan Markam is to be analyzed dispassionately by the critics of the Congress.”

About Narendra Modi’s guarantee, he said, “Guarantee and that too from Modi ji! People understand its belly meaning. People know what happens to a guarantee which is taken before Agni seven times.”

Reminding that the JMM here is making loud claims to contest from almost everywhere like it says JMM will contest the Bhavnathpur assembly seat to which Thakur said, “I had an interactive session with the party workers at Bishunpura which comes under the Bhavnathpur assembly segment. Here our enthusiastic party workers expressed their mood saying Congress must contest the Bhavnathpur assembly seat. The workers’ mood and mind have to be respected after all.”