Heeding Rahul Gandhi's advice, Raj Babbar quits as UPCC chief

LUCKNOW: A day after Congress president Rahul Gandhi's public nudge to them to step aside, veterans have started leaving their positions on their own. A day after Shantaram Naik quit as Goa Congress chief, saying that he had followed Rahul's advice, UP Congress chief Raj Babbar announced his resignation late on Tuesday evening.
With speculation swirling that Gujarat PCC chief Bharatsinh Solanki might also follow suit, party appeared to be looking at a potential spate of resignations. Rahul in his speech had made clear that the time had come for veterans to leave the centre stage. Although he said that he would use persuasion rather than coercion to insert young leaders in influential positions long held by the grandees, few could have missed the intent behind the remark .



So, just three days before crucial voting in the state for Rajya Sabha polls, Babbar stepped down. Although there was no official word about it, Congress sources told TOI that his resignation was yet to be accepted and he would continue to hold the post till the time his successor took over.



Sources said that there were four frontrunners for the key post, but the party was likely to project a Brahmin face to counter BJP’s moves to consolidate non-Yadav OBC and non-Jatav dalit vote bank. Young faces like former Union minister Jitin Prasad, former MP Rajesh Mishra and former MLA Laliteshpati Tripathi, all Brahmins, are among the frontrunners, sources said.

Although Babbar was not available for comment, his cryptic tweet, quoting noted poet Kedarnath Singh — who passed away on Monday evening — acted as a giveaway about his move. "Aaj ghar main ghusa toh ajeeb drishya tha, suniye -- mere bistar ne kaha”— yeh raha mera isteefa (resignation), main apne kapaas ke bheetar jaana chahta hoon (Today when i reached home, my bed offered its resignation, telling me it wants to go back to its original self (turn into cotton),” the quoted lines from the Jnanpith Award winner said.