C’GARH LEADER TO MEET RAHUL

“Disgruntled” Congress leader and former Union minister Charan Das Mahant has got a call from the AICC to meet Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi, causing discomfiture among his rivals in the Chhattisgarh party unit.

Sources close to Mr Mahant told this newspaper that he got a call from the AICC Tuesday night to come to Delhi to meet the new Congress president.

“Disgruntled” Congress leader and former Union minister Charan Das Mahant has received a call from AICC to meet Rahul Gandhi in Delhi causing discomfiture among his rival camps in the party in Chhattisgarh.

Sources close to Mr Mahant told this newspaper on Wednesday that he received a call from AICC on Tuesday night to come to Delhi to meet the new president of Congress.

“He left for Delhi on Wednesday. He is scheduled to meet the party president in Delhi on Thursday”, a senior Congress leader said unwilling to be quoted.

Mr Mahant was however not available for his comment.

The timing of the call has caused commotions in the faction- ridden Congress in Chhattisgarh.

Mr Mahant, one of the chief ministerial aspirants in the party, was said to be displeased over style of functioning of Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupesh Baghel.

Several PCC meetings had witnessed heated exchanges between the rival leaders.

Mr Baghel has replaced Mr Mahant in the PCC chief post following debacle of the party in Chhattisgarh in the last assembly elections.

The call comes in the wake of the ongoing efforts by AICC general secretary in- charge of Chhattisgarh P. L. Puniya to unite the factional leaders in the party ahead of the 2018 assembly elections in the state.

Mr Puniya had called all for dinner to make leaders sink their differences.