Cong struggles to find footing in UP as next gen leaders ditch

Lucknow: Synonymous with the Congress in Uttar Pradesh for decades, several families are now losing their new generation to rival organisations, making it even more difficult for the party to regain lost ground in the crucial State. These are the families of stalwarts like Kamlapati Tripathi (Varanasi), Noor Bano (Rampur), Jitendra Prasada (Shahjahanpur) and Kunwar CPN Singh (Kushinagar), who were largely unwavering in their loyalty to the Congress. But their new generation has been looking elsewhere.

From these families, Lalitesh Pati Tripathi, Haider Ali Khan, Jitin Prasada and RPN Singh have switched sides, leaving the already weakened Congress to promote their own political careers. While Jitin Prasada and RPN Singh went to the BJP, Haider Ali Khan is now the Apna Dal (S) nominee from Suar seat in Rampur and Laliteshwar Tripathi has joined Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress. There is speculation that Lalitesh Pati Tripathi might be picked as an assembly poll candidate by Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav as Banerjee has already announced that her TMC would not contest in UP.

Instead, it will support the SP. While the rivals mock the grand old party over its leaders abandoning a "sinking ship", the party has put on a brave face. "Primarily, the importance of these leaders was because of the Congress and not the other way round. There could be some impact because of their influential family backgrounds, but it cannot be taken as a setback," Congress spokesperson PL Punia told PTI. On the RPN Singh case, Punia said he got whatever the party could offer him when in power, and was later made in-charge of Jharkhand. He got a spot on the decision-making Congress Working Committee and was also named one of the star campaigners for UP. "What more importance can be given to any leader?" Punia said. Lalitesh Tripathi's great-grandfather Kamlapati Tripathi had been the chief minister of the state and the railway minister.