Are Rajya Sabha elections triggering Congress crisis?

New Delhi, Nov 20: The Congress on Friday said it is a vibrant democratic party and if someone is raising questions or issues about its functioning from within the party fold, it only goes to show that its style of functioning is indeed “democratic” in nature and it encourages “internal democracy”. However, it has also categorically said that speaking in public is not good for the party.
The Congress is witnessing turmoil within, especially fuelled further by the Bihar Assembly polls and states bypolls debacle. One issue perceived to lie at the root is the selection of the Rajya Sabha candidates.
Many leaders, actually said to be a group of 23, including the likes of Kapil Sibal have questioned the leadership. However, several others have rushed to defend former President Rahul Gandhi.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said: “I will not second guess on the future but Congress workers want Rahul Gandhi as President and CEA headed by Madhusudan Mistry will decide on the AICC session and election.”
The crisis came to the fore after 23 leaders wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi for sweeping reforms in the party.
Sources say the internal crisis could be related to the Rajya Sabha elections in which senior leaders like Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, whose terms are expiring were overlooked, and people close to Rahul Gandhi like K.C. Venugopal and Rajeev Satav were nominated.
A Congress leader questioned if the party will be able to send a north Indian leader from the south to the Rajya Sabha.
While leaders like Mukul Wasnik were hoping to be nominated, however, except for Digvijaya Singh and Mallikarjun Kharge, most of the senior leaders were ignored.
The dissenting leaders want fresh organisational elections from block to the Congress Working Committee level to rejuvenate the cadres. (IANS)