Anil Sharma addresses Congress workers at the meeting in Patna on Wednesday. (Deepak Kumar)

Patna, May 5: The turf war between Congress general secretary and Bihar affairs in-charge Jagdish Tytler and state Congress chief Anil Sharma reached a flashpoint with the latter demonstrating his show of strength here today.

Tytler was conspicuous by his absence at what Sharma described as the “official” meeting of the district and block-level office-bearers to select the candidates for the Assembly polls due in October/November in Bihar.

The development in the state Congress today virtually put the ball in the court of the Congress high command. The two leaders are apparently working on separate agenda, which according to observers, does not augur well for the party in the run up to the polls.

Sources said district presidents from over 30 districts and office-bearers from over 500 blocks across the state attended Sharma-sponsored meeting, which emboldened him to announce “fill-the-jail” agitation against the Nitish Kumar government’s “false claim on development” throughout the state.

In fact, the battle between the two key functionaries of the Congress came to the fore on April 28 with Tytler convening a meeting of district presidents and block office-bearers for the same purpose — to select candidates for the Assembly polls. Tytler did not take Sharma into confidence while convening the meeting, which was attended by about 18 district presidents.

Apparently at Sharma’s behest, state Congress vice-president Ashok Choudhary, media in-charge H.K. Verma and general secretary Kaukab Qadri even issued a statement, deferring Tytler’s meeting to May 5 before it was convened.

Taking a strong view of the trio’s action, Sagar Raika — secretary in-charge of Bihar and believed to be in Tytler’s camp — issued a showcause notice on the three leaders yesterday for “creating confusion” about the Tytler-sponsored meeting.

Unruffled, the three leaders today participated in the meeting convened by Sharma, who tactically avoided saying anything on Tytler. “The party high command has appointed me the state Congress chief and I am duty bound to carry out the party’s policies and its agenda in the state,” Sharma said, refusing to comment on Tytler.

He added: “The presence of a vast majority of the office-bearers today has shown that the Congress workers are united and battle ready to enter the poll arena.”