SHEHARA: An otherwise innocuous 'Sneh Milan' of Congress party workers turned out to be quite a significant event in BJP strongman Jetha Ahir's turf at Shehara from where he has been winning assembly polls since 20 years.
The event revealed that the Congress was resurgent yet riddled with infighting and under the scanner of the top brass that would not take things lightly.
The 'Sneh Milan' on Tuesday evening saw an impressive gathering of party workers. This left many impressed as this had happened for the first time ever since Ahir started dominating the constituency. But soon the upbeat mood turned sour as party members were involved in heated arguments on the stage itself.
The reason for the spat was petty - the ceremony to welcome senior leaders including national general secretary Jitu Patwari, who is also a close to party's national vice president Rahul Gandhi, was being cut short as the programme was delayed and it would get dark soon.
The incident, at the one end, reflected how the party was gearing up to challenge the BJP this time and its cadres were galvanised. At the other, differences over petty issues continued to embarrass the party.
What followed, however, was quite unexpected. Patwari, who is holding charge of central Gujarat, spoke out his mind and clearly told party members that it was time they got united or faced the consequences. "Do we want to repeat the mistakes of the past? Do we want to go to the local MLA (Ahir) and BJP with a begging bowl for our works? The MLA and BJP want this," he said.
Patwari minced no words and said that if some persons wanted to work against the party in the ensuing polls, they should remember that they would some day want to contest panchayat or market yard polls. He hinted that they would be taken care of at that stage.
The event revealed that the Congress was resurgent yet riddled with infighting and under the scanner of the top brass that would not take things lightly.
The 'Sneh Milan' on Tuesday evening saw an impressive gathering of party workers. This left many impressed as this had happened for the first time ever since Ahir started dominating the constituency. But soon the upbeat mood turned sour as party members were involved in heated arguments on the stage itself.
The reason for the spat was petty - the ceremony to welcome senior leaders including national general secretary Jitu Patwari, who is also a close to party's national vice president Rahul Gandhi, was being cut short as the programme was delayed and it would get dark soon.
The incident, at the one end, reflected how the party was gearing up to challenge the BJP this time and its cadres were galvanised. At the other, differences over petty issues continued to embarrass the party.
What followed, however, was quite unexpected. Patwari, who is holding charge of central Gujarat, spoke out his mind and clearly told party members that it was time they got united or faced the consequences. "Do we want to repeat the mistakes of the past? Do we want to go to the local MLA (Ahir) and BJP with a begging bowl for our works? The MLA and BJP want this," he said.
Patwari minced no words and said that if some persons wanted to work against the party in the ensuing polls, they should remember that they would some day want to contest panchayat or market yard polls. He hinted that they would be taken care of at that stage.
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