Bhubaneswar: Trouble is mounting in the Odisha Congress with the resignation of another senior leader and former MP of Jagatsinghpur, Bibhu Prasad Tarai from the primary membership of the party on Wednesday. His resignation was in protest against the modus operandi of the party leadership in the allotment of tickets for the Lok Sabha and Assembly polls.
Talking to mediapersons here, Tarai, who was given the party ticket to contest the Tirtol Assembly seat, launched a broadside against the party leadership for giving a ticket to candidates with criminal antecedents. He said that Arindam Sarkel, who is a hardened criminal and a murder accused, has been patronised by the Congress leadership. It has given him a ticket to contest the Paradip Assembly seat. “Since Paradip is my birthplace, I am not in a position to accept my party’s decision of giving ticket to a criminal,” Tarai pointed out.
He also said that Congress has deliberately fielded weak candidates in most places.
“The manner in which the tickets are being allotted to the candidates gives a clear indication that there is a tacit understanding between the Congress and BJD. You can see that in most places, the Congress has fielded weak candidates to ensure a facile win for BJD candidates,” Tarai noted.