Congress nominee Priya Dutt's victory from Mumbai North-Central, which had looked a certainty till a while ago, seems a bit dicey now, thanks to internal squabbles in the party.
In a letter dispatched recently to AICC general secretary Mohan Prakash, who is in charge of Maharashtra, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and MPCC president Manikrao Thakre, former Mumbai Congress president and MLA Kripashankar Singh Kripashankar has complained that the Mumbai North-Central District Congress president, Ziauddin Wahidi, appointed by Ms Dutt, had been working authoritatively.
Wahidi had been conveying party meetings without informing MLAs, corporators, ex-elected representatives and party activists. The rank and file in Kalina assembly constituency are aggrieved and that could affect the party's prospects, the letter says.
When contacted, Pirya Dutt said it was an internal matter of the party. "We will address it at the party forum. I do not want to discuss this in the media. If Kripaji wants to discuss party's internal issues in public, it is his prerogative," she said.
Sources close to Kripashankar told dna that minister Naseem Khan, Kripashankar and to some extend Baba Siddiqui MLA were not happy with the style of functioning of Priya Dutt.
Siddiqui admitted there were problems, but claimed they would be sorted out at the party forum. "I am working hard and honestly for Priya. People are with Priya, so she will get elected with a huge margin this time too," he said.
Some other sources told this reporter that Priya did not want to be associated with Kripashankar as he was facing various cases at different levels.
In 2009, Priya defeated BJP's Mahesh Jethmalani by 1.74 lakh votes. MNS's Shilpa Sarpotdar had bagged almost 1.32 lakh votes then. "This time, there is no MNS candidate, so a majority of MNS supporters will vote for BJP's Poonam Mahajan. If the squabbles in the Congress continue, that will have an adverse impact on voters. Besides, Samajwadi Party's Abu Azami also may throw in his hat. The Muslim and slum voters, which Priya is banking on, could then go Azami," said a political observer in the constituency.
According to him, Gujrati voters are likely to rally behind the BJP. "And, there is no question of splitting Marathi votes because there is no MNS candidate. In 2009, Priya might have won by a big margin, but that can easily be bridged and even surpassed because of these subterranean factors. Therefore, Priya will be in trouble if the differences in the party are not ironed out immediately," he added.
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