City Congress chief Neeraj Bora resigns, praises Rajnath

LUCKNOW: In a major embarrassment for the Congress, the party’s Lucknow unit chief Dr Neeraj Bora disbanded the city unit to announce his support for BJP chief Rajnath Singh, who is pitted against Congress’s Rita Bahuguna Joshi from Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency. He invoked former PM and five-time Lucknow MP Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying just as Vajpayee’s appeal rose above party lines, Rajnath too has stood out as a candidate with universal appeal. Bora, who stood second in the 2012 UP polls from Lucknow north assembly segment besides contesting the mayoral elections, told HT that he had decided to support the party chief, not the party per se. “I have declared my support for Rajnathji as I feel he is the tallest of candidates in the fray from Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency,” Bora, a known party hopper said.

Meanwhile, former UPCC chief Rita Bahuguna Joshi, who is also a candidate announced Bora’s expulsion from the party for six years. Bora laughed at the Congress announcement. “Hours after I resigned did the Congress take the decision to expel me,” he said. In his resignation letter to the AICC president Sonia Gandhi, Dr Bora said that despite his best efforts to streamline the party functioning, there was no cooperation from the state leadership. He has also accused the UPA government of failing to live up to the expectations of the people.

Asked what prompted him to take the decision to quit, Dr Bora said, “The speech by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in Pilibhit was the last straw. He admitted in Pilibhit that he had failed to control price hike. Isn’t this an admission of failure?”