Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Jan 25: Veteram Congress leader and former union minister, B Janardhan Poojary, remained absent from the party activists meet held here on Saturday January 23. This clearly showed that internal rift has been bothering the party.

This meet was called with the stated purpose of thanking the activists of the party for ensuring the success of party nominee for legislative council election, K Pratapchandra Shetty, in spite of the challenge posed by the presence of two significant rebel candidates.

It is being claimed that Poojary decided not to take part in the meet as he did not get official invitation from the district committee of the Congress. It is also being claimed that some party leaders ensured that he was kept away from this important meet.

The meeting, in which Rajya Sabha member, Oscar Fernandes, ministers, U T Khader, B Ramanath Rai, and Vinay Kumar Sorake and many elected representatives from the twin-districts participated, also provided a forum for discussing techniques to face the upcoming taluk and zilla panchayat election. Poojary, who used to make it a point to be present in all party functions, was conspicuous by his absence, but no one made a mention about it at the meet.

It is said that the district unit of the Congress had not printed invitations or pamphlets for this meet, and all the invitees were contacted over phone. Poojary too was extended an invitation over phone by district committee headed by Kodijal Ibrahim, it is learnt. Poojary's decision to distance himself from this meet has come at a time when the party is bracing to face zilla and taluk panchayat elections. This development has provided fodder for some debate and soul searching within the party.