SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, May 19: Congress Dhanbad unit received a major setback as its district working president Shankar Prajapati lost badly in Mukhiya post-election in Kadaiya Panchayat under Tundi block for which counting of votes was completed on Wednesday evening.
A social activist named Ajijuddin Ansari defeated the Congress working president (rural) Shankar Prajapati by 905 votes. Ajijuddin Ansari got 1923 votes while Shankar got 1018 votes. Total votes in the Panchayat were 4600 and six candidates were in the fray.
Kadaiya Panchayat was reserved for women in the last election and Shankar Prajapati’s wife Sundra Devi became the Mukhiya. But this time, it was reserved for men and Shankar Prajapati contented himself for the post.
“Defeat of Shankar Prajapati is a great setback for Congress. Thought it was a party-less Panchayat poll but the party had of course tried that only one supporter should contest from one Panchayat. It has been followed in all blocks including Dhanbad Sadar. We would not have minded had he been defeated on the Zila Parishad seat, but a loss in the Panchayat poll is a matter of concern for the party,” said Ravindra Verma, another working president of the District Congress Committee.
Tundi is considered a strong citadel of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM). Two months ago Congress had received massive support for its membership drive. Ajijuddin Ansari is the secretary of the JMM minority cell and is considered a supporter of Dr Saba Ahmed who is a former minister.
A senior leader pointed out that the loss of the district chief for the post of Mukhiya has broken the morale of the rank and file of the party. “Party candidate Kirti Jha Azad lost deposit in Lok Sabha (2019) election from Dhanbad seat. It did not hurt party workers as he was an imported candidate. But district president’s defeat exposed the party bases at the rural level,” said the leader.
Congress district president Brajendra Prasad Singh reacted that it was a personal decision of Shankar Prajapati to contest the Panchayat poll. Since he has a house in the village, he contested the election. “Although, we had not expected such results,” he said.
