Jaipur: Congress’s choice of mayoral and chairperson candidates for Rajasthan’s urban local bodies exposed the party’s internal fault lines Wednesday, as local ambition, factional loyalty and claims of community representation collided in Bikaner, Tonk and Pali.The party contained an immediate revolt in Tonk and reached a consensus in Ajmer, but dissent persisted in Bikaner and Pali, where the numbers leave little room for cross-voting.In Tonk, trouble began soon after Congress announced 25-year-old Mayank Goyal as its candidate for chairperson of the municipal council around 11 am. Congress councillor Moinuddin Nizam, who was corralled with other councillors at a hotel in Jamwaramgarh, rushed back to Tonk and objected to the choice.Nizam threatened to join BJP along with five councillors before senior Congress functionaries from Jaipur intervened and persuaded him to stay. His protest gave the rebellion a sharper political edge.“This is an injustice. Around 70% Congress MLAs in Tonk come are Muslims and the chairmanship post should have gone to a Muslim,” Nizam told TOI.He alleged that Muslim functionaries were being denied positions they deserved. “Congress is weakening Muslim participation by denying deserving persons. Tonk has already been deprived of both MLA and chairmanship posts,” he said.Nizam said he would raise the matter with the Congress high command in Delhi. He also confirmed that BJP functionaries approached him with what he described as a “big offer”, which he refused.In Tonk, Congress won 32 of 59 wards, BJP 19 and independents and others eight. The council has 60 wards, but polling was not held in one ward after residents boycotted it.In Bikaner, where Congress won 42 of 80 wards against BJP’s 27, the party nominated Anil Kalla, nephew of former cabinet minister BD Kalla, for mayor. But another faction backed Navratan Daga, who filed his nomination. A Congress source said Daga had the support of eight councillors and had not responded to senior leaders’ calls.Pali presented a similar risk. Congress won 29 of 65 wards, BJP 21 and independents 15. Congress nominee Sumitra Jain filed her nomination, while rebel Rajbala Hingad entered as an independent and is understood to have taken five Congress councillors with her. Confirming the development, Congress functionary Sangeeta Beniwal told TOI, “It is unfortunate that our candidate has left the hotel along with five councillors.”Ajmer was the exception, with Congress nominating Kiran Gadwal after emerging as the largest party with 37 of 80 wards.
