Patna, March 9: The Congress is facing internal dissent again in the state.

'I don't know why we are fighting. There is nothing to fight for,' said a senior Congress leader, pointing to complete marginalisation of the party.

The latest hiccup is over former MP and senior party leader Ramdev Rai quitting from the state working committee to protest against the manner in which Begusarai party workers were beaten up during a squabble at Sadaquat Ashram before Holi.

'There have been irregularities in selection of Congress office-bearers throughout the state.

Loyal Congress workers were ignored while appointing people to key posts,' he said, blaming state Congress chief Ashok Choudhary.

Earlier, Ashok had claimed that the party high command approved a list of office bearers he had issued on February 22.

Senior party leader Umakant Singh supported Rai.

'Begusarai Congress president Abhay Kumar Singh, now removed, was an elected district president, hugely popular in Begusarai. He did not win but registered impressive votes whenever he contested Assembly polls. The man who replaced him has joined the party recently from the JDU,' Singh said.

Dissident Congress leaders point out that rules of 33 per cent reservation for women, Dalits and OBCs have been violated while constituting the new Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee.

The state BPCC was reconstituted the second time in 15 months under the same president.

Dissidents claim senior party leaders were ignored while questioning the utility of having such an organisation.

'The previous body failed to meet even once to discuss future strategies of the party. Everything is decided by the state president and office bearers of the AICC,' remarked a former minister.

In February, a group of senior party leaders had submitted a memorandum to AICC president Sonia Gandhi, demanding Ashok Choudhary's removal.

They alleged they were not being consulted on vital issues like forging an alliance with the RJD or selecting the names of candidates for Parliamentary and Assembly seats. They said Sadaquat Ashram had turned from a hub for political activity into a 'club'. The petitioners included former state presidents Ram Jatan Sinha, Anil Sharma and others.

'However, the party high command does not appear to be interested in reviving the Congress in Bihar,' said a disheartened Congress leader.

The party is struggling to find its feet in Bihar, a state it last ruled before 1990.

'We have to decide within the next six months, if we want to fight the Bihar Assembly elections alone or in alliance with the RJD and JDU. If we want an alliance we should have a respectable number of seats where we can contest and have candidates in all the districts of the state. The Congress is already marginalised in the state and this election will be about whether or not we will still be relevant in the state,' said a former state party chief.