JOGI BLAMES PCC CHIEF FOR BYPOLL MESS

Two days after his “loyalist” and Congress candidate Manturam Pawar “surreptitiously” withdrew his nomination for Antagarh byelections, former chief minister Ajit Jogi on Sunday broke his silence over the issue, squarely blaming the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupesh Baghel for the “fias- co”. Mr Jogi wondered why the PCC chief gave party ticket to Mr Pawar to contest in the Antagarh by- elections, scheduled for September 13, despite the fact that the nominee was not willing to fight the elections in the first place.

“Mr Pawar had called me thrice before he was made the party candidate expressing his serious reserva- tions on contesting the by- polls. I too advised him against fighting the election since he had lost last three Assembly elections from the constituency. I wonder what transpired between him and the PCC president later that led to his nomination”, he said.

The former chief minister regretted that the unsavoury incident has weakened the party further and squarely blaming the PCC president for the fiasco.