MP: Congress body pledges no homecoming for party deserters

The Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) of Madhya Pradesh which met here took the decision in the wake of desertion of the party by around 18,000 activists of the party including some sitting MLAs, former Union ministers and former MPs ahead of the outgoing Lok Sabha polls, causing its debacle in the LS elections in MP.

“The PAC has decided not to allow the leaders who quit the party to rejoin it in future”, a spokesman of the party here said.

Sources said the PAC meeting, chaired by AICC general secretary in-charge of MP Jitendra Singh, discussed ‘threadbare’ the reasons behind the worst ever show by Congress in the recently concluded LS polls in the state.

One of the key reasons for the poor performance of Congress in the elections was large scale exodus of party leaders and workers ahead of the LS polls, the key Congress body has found, according to sources.

Congress drew a blank in the recently held LS polls in MP, losing all the 27 seats the party had contested.

The party had shared Khajuraho LS seat with its electoral ally, Samajwadi Party (SP), while the party candidate in Indore had withdrawn his nomination in the dying hours denying Congress to field an alternative candidate in the seat.

BJP had won all the 29 LS seats in the state.

The Congress body has also decided to give importance to the leaders who are committed to party ideology.

The PAC has also decided to strengthen the party in the state by galvanising the party workers and leaders from booth to block levels.

Prominent among others who attended the meeting were party veteran and former chief minister Digvijay Singh, PCC chief Jitu Patwari and Congress Legislature Party leader Umang Singhar.