Has Cong called it a day in state?

(From The Times of India)

Byline: Leena Misra

AHMEDABAD: When Sonia Gandhi launched her roadshow in Gujarat earlier this month, several 'young' Congressmen who followed the cavalcade, refused to even get out of their air-conditioned limousines. And many of those who did, failed to keep pace with Sonia because of their flab. The roadshow mirrored the state of the Congress in Gujarat.

The burden of carrying three former chief ministers - Amarsinh Chaudhary, Madhavsinh Solanki and Shankarsinh Vaghela - and the widow of a fourth, Urmila Patel, is weighing down the party.

With the four heavywights - and their friends and foes - busy taking potshots at each other, the party has been neglected. Though Congressmen try to dismiss factionalism as "internal democracy", a senior leader admits that it leaves no space for anything else.

Late on Tuesday, the eve of the last day for filing nominations, the Congress announced Jeevabhai Patel and Tushar Chaudhary as candidates from Mehsana and Mandvi respectively.A former Congress bastion, Mandvi's self-styled sultan, Amarsinh Chaudhary, turned down Sonia's offer to contest.

Instead, he pushed for his son, Tushar, first-time legislator, and was content heading a virtually non-existent Opposition in the Gujarat Assembly. None of the Congress's Patels was ready for the fight either, and the one who was, Dinsha Patel, was forced to deny rumours that he was seeking a BJP ticket.