Congress no longer taking grassroot feedback, says miffed Sanjay Nirupam

Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam on Friday said the party was no longer taking feedback from the grassroot level and had made the "AICC general secretary in charge of the state all-powerful".

A miffed Nirupam, who had announced on Thursday that he would not campaign for the party in the Assembly polls scheduled for October 21, said the leadership was "sidelining" him though he had served as Mumbai unit president for four years.

Speaking to PTI, Nirupam, who was removed as Mumbai Congress president ahead of the Lok Sabha polls this year, said his views had not been considered during ticket distribution for the Assembly polls.

"I have been given no role in the Assembly poll process. My views have not been considered during (Assembly) ticket distribution in my own Lok Sabha constituency.

"There is no respect for me, though I was Mumbai unit president for four years," the former MP said.

Attacking the Congress leadership, he said there was a "systematic fault" in the party, adding that "process of getting parallel feedback from the grassroot (workers) has been scrapped".

"The decision of the AICC general secretary in-charge of the state is final. The AICC general secretary has been made all powerful. He can be biased too," he said.

Nirupam said he had suggested one name as the party's candidate for the Versova Assembly constituency, part of the Mumbai North West LS seat from which he lost by a margin of 2.6 lakh votes in May, and that had not been considered.

"The name (Baldev Khosa) finalised by the party is of one who came third in the 2014 Assembly polls and has been inactive for the last five years," he said.

"The BJP is so aggressive in its campaign and we need to pick candidates who can match their aggression," he said.

Congress sources termed Nirupam's allegations as baseless, and said Khosa was a three-time MLA and a long-time party loyalist.

Nirupam, who had a long stint in the Shiv Sena, had joined the Congress in April 2005.