Congress has won back rebel contestants: Rawat

Bhopal: Congress had succeeded to a great extent in coaxing its rebel candidates to withdraw from the electoral fray in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh, Union Minister Harish Rawat claimed on Tuesday.

"I can say with confidence that at least 80 percent of the Congress rebels have withdrawn from the electoral race," Rawat told reporters here. He said efforts were on to win back rest of the dissidents who have raised a banner of revolt by filing nominations against official candidates after they were denied ticket for the November 25 Assembly Elections. "In contrast, BJP has managed to convince only 20 percent of the total rebels to withdraw their nominations," he claimed. Rattled by rebellion in its rank over denial of tickets, the Congress deployed senior leaders like party general secretary Digvijay Singh and general secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh Mohan Prakash to prevail upon the rebels. Though the sulking leaders, who had filed nominations against official Congress candidates, are not significant in their political stature, the party is making all out efforts to nip rebellion in bud. According to sources, the dissidents could queer the pitch for official Congress candidates though they may not be able to win the elections on their own.