New Delhi, May 23: Unnerved by the brazen exploitation of the tribal card by P.A. Sangma, the Congress today mounted a counter-offensive by rallying its own tribal leaders to establish that the NCP leader was only nurturing his personal ambition of becoming the President.
Sangma received a rude shock from his own party too, as Sharad Pawar asked his daughter Agatha to stop campaigning for his father because she was a minister in the UPA government.
Pawar understands the oddity of a minister campaigning for a presidential candidate who does not enjoy the backing of the government. The NCP has already said it would go by the collective decision of the UPA.
The NCP leaders also revealed that Pawar did not appreciate Sangma’s desperation and his projection as the next President by leaders opposed to the Congress, such as Jayalalithaa and Naveen Patnaik, has created much unease in the party. Sangma’s daughter accompanied him to Chennai to meet Jayalalithaa and has been actively canvassing for his candidature. Her dilemma has been understood by the Congress and the NCP but she has now been told to lie low as long as she is a minister.
Pawar’s attitude has emboldened the Congress to go aggressive. The Congress leaders, including several Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha members, accused Sangma of not only misusing the tribal card for personal benefit but also attacked him for playing into the hands of communal forces, including the BJP. The Congress, however, distanced itself from this operation, describing it as individual initiative of former Chhattisgarh chief minister Ajit Jogi.
The Congress is too matured a party to own up this operation but there is little doubt that Jogi would not venture to do anything like this without clearance from the top. Jogi is also the head of the AICC Scheduled Tribes department and hence cannot be viewed strictly as an individual entity.
Even if Jogi took this initiative on his own, MPs wouldn’t have joined him without approval from the top leadership.
One tribal MP present at the news conference told The Telegraph: “We discussed the matter at the Prime Minister’s dinner last night and decided to take up the matter. Jogi obviously consulted the higher authorities before going ahead. Sangma used the tribal card without the support of the community. He is being propped up by the BJP, which is plotting to derail the Congress plan.”
Jogi said: “One should not declare himself a presidential candidate. It is such a high office. It has never been demanded by any individual. The country chooses... electoral college decides it. But Sangma has claimed it as a tribal leader which is wrong.”
Asked whether they were against the tribal candidate, Jogi said, “We are not against any candidate. The UPA has not decided on it as efforts to build a consensus are on.”
Recalling earlier presidential elections, Jogi said, “Once a tribal leader from Meghalaya GG Swell was the candidate and then Sangma had opposed him. Now he is seeking support in the name of tribal.”
Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Balmuchu said: “Sangma belongs to the NCP and even his party is also not supporting him on the issue.”
Minister of state for water resources Vincent Pala, Manipur MP Rishang Keising, Arunachal MP Ninong Erring and Madhya Pradesh MP Gajendra Singh Rajukhedi were present on the occasion.
