Here’s Why Jharkhand Congress Chief Ajoy Kumar Quit His Post

In his resignation letter, Kumar said “worst criminals looked better” than some of his colleagues.

With just a couple of months to go for Assembly elections in the state, Jharkhand Pradesh Congress President Ajoy Kumar on Saturday, 10 August, quit his post, while accusing party colleagues of indulging in corrupt practices and promoting their own interests.

Launching a stinging attack on party leaders, Kumar wrote that he could "confidently say that the worst criminals look better than some of my colleagues.”

WHO WAS KUMAR TALKING ABOUT?

In his three-page letter addressed to former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Kumar blamed some state party leaders, including former Union minister Subodh Kant Sahai, for his decision to resign from the post.

Besides Sahai, Kumar mentioned Rameshwar Oraon, former MPs – Chandrashekar Dubey and Furqan Ansari – and ex-PCC President Pradeep Balmuchu, and accused them of attempting to bypass the system that has been put in place for the benefit of the party.

WHY WAS KUMAR UPSET?

In his polemic on party colleagues, Kumar said that some of his co-workers were only interested in grabbing power, so that they could sell tickets and make money out of it. He further alleged that the Congress could have won 6 Lok Sabha seats in the state, had some party leaders had put the party’s interest above their own.

“Their only intention is to grab power, sell tickets or collect money in the name of elections. As a proud Indian and one of the youngest winners of the police gallantry award and having wiped the mafia in Jamshedpur, I can confidently say that the worst criminals look better than some of my colleagues.”

Ajoy Kumar

While hitting out at his colleagues, Kumar also alleged that he had faced interference on multiple fronts, ranging from talks on alliance to his attempts at preventing the corrupt from bagging posts.

"The malaise in deep rooted. Over the last few months, I have faced interference on several fronts. Whether it's an alliance issue, double standards with respect to Congress workers, non-formation of the PCC or continuous pandering to put dishonest people in posts. This has brought me to the unfortunate conclusion that whatever efforts I make are effectively reversed by these unscrupulous elements," he wrote.

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WHAT WAS THE TRIGGER?

In the 2019 general elections, the BJP-AJSU party alliance had swept the recently concluded parliamentary polls in Jharkhand, winning 12 of the 14 Lok Sabha seats while the Congress and the JMM bagged one each.

On 27 May, Kumar had his tendered resignation letter to the AICC in-charge for Jharkhand – RPN Singh – taking responsibility for the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha seat in the state. His resignation was rejected then.

According to a Hindustan Times report, multiple senior leaders of the Congress’ state unit had called for Kumar’s resignation, while holding him accountable for the party’s loss in the general elections.

The matter had reached the doorstep of Congress General Secretary of Organisation, KC Venugopal, who at a meeting held in Delhi on 3 August, had asked all factions to not speak publicly on the matter, till the CWC decides on outgoing Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s replacement.

However, the rift within the party had widened on 23 July, when a section of party workers burnt Kumar’s effigies and tried to block his entry into the party’s state office in Ranchi. Following this scuffle, six party workers were suspended.

The crisis within Jharkhand Congress deepened further on 31 July, when supporters of Kumar and Subodh Kant Sahai, clashed at the party’s office in Ranchi. The suspension of two party workers close to Sahai was said to be the alleged cause behind the skirmish.

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WHAT IS THE PARTY SAYING?

PCC spokesman Alok Dubey said the party leadership has to take a decision on the matter, in poll-bound Jharkhand. However, the matter is likely to attract little attention from the Congress’ high command, which itself is caught in the endless process of choosing Rahul Gandhi’s replacement.

With Ajoy Kumar’s resignation and massive internal squabbles within the Jharkhand Congress, the upcoming Assembly elections provide an edge to the BJP.

(With inputs from PTI & Hindustan Times)