Split in Cong? Ball in RaGa court

The Congress Working Committee a week ago succeeded in suppressing an attempted coup in the form of a letter bomb by 23 seniors, but it has not been repulsed. The simmering trouble refuses to die down as the signatories are continuing to keep the issues live unless and until former Congress President Rahul Gandhi mends his ways.

The party leaders in the know of the things fear that the Congress may even split in the AICC session, which is most likely to be held in January.

The signatories are already upset at the way Congress president Sonia Gandhi is filling up vacancies in the parliamentary party with the diehard supporters of Rahul, strengthening their charge that Rahul is running the party show with the help of some working from his residence.

They are quite angry at a subtle message sent out to them by Sonia Gandhi that those who want to leave the Congress should better leave. Only on Sunday, a stern message was given by senior party spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi that it is not appropriate for any leader to go public on the internal matters of the party after Sonia

had called for moving on collectively and a resolution was unanimously adopted in the CWC that no one should raise the party matters in public.

Though AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel tried to speak against the writers of the letter at the CWC, he has failed to regain confidence of Sonia as everyone in the party knows that the signatories like Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma and AICC general secretary Mukul Wasnik belong to Ahmed Patel's camp. The Gandhis see his hand in the controversial letter.

Ahmed Patel (71) is upset as he is no longer consulted. Sonia used to depend on him as her political secretary, but no longer. She rather depends on her two children to help her decide all matters. Rahul and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have their own friends for advice. These youngsters know nothing about party culture and that is the worry of the seniors. This was one of the issues flagged in the letter of 23.

Sources said Rahul Gandhi (50) is all set to be elected president of the party in the AICC session. It will, however, become an uphill task for him to rebuild the party at all levels if there is a vertical split.