Lucknow:
Beni Prasad Verma is a relatively new Congressman. But he is an old Uttar Pradesh hand. So when he spoke, seemingly out of turn, suggesting that the Congress Party should tie up with Mayawati's BSP in a post-election scenario in the state, many sat up to listen. In Mr Verma's comments, that came after exit polls for UP, was also an acceptance that the Congress was likely to be placed fourth in the four-cornered UP battle.
Mr Verma's words were at odds with the entire UP script of the Congress, which has been all about ridding the state of the Mayawati regime. Also, right through the elections the Congress has asserted that it will form its own government in UP.
So party leaders like Salman Khurshid and Rajiv Shukla have been called upon to limit damage. Both said Mr Verma's opinions were his own; that the party's views and decisions on alliances would be formulated only at a national leadership level after consultations. "We're not a party that has thought control... we have ideological directions, but no thought control. Personal preferences of leaders will not be the deciding factor. The deciding factor will be the overall view that the national leadership takes," said Salman Khurshid, the Law Minister and the Muslim face of the Congress.
He also spoke about the Congress' commitment about the state. "Rahul Gandhi had made it clear that our commitment to UP is deep. If you've heard Rahul's speeches, he talks of a long term engagement with the state. He spoke with passion, involvement and commitment- that was the turning point in UP politics," Mr Khurshid said.
Among those that have sought to play down his comments is Mr Verma himself, a man not famous for watching what he says all through these elections, having challenged even the Election Commission on the Muslim sub-quota issue recently. The steel minister claimed today that what he said was not what he meant on the Congress coming in fourth in UP. "I'm not saying, people were saying so I just went along with it. Even if it's the fourth party now, the key to the majority will still be in the hands of the Congress. I agree with Digvijaya Singh, we can surpass everyone else," Mr Verma explained.
Arch rival within the Congress in UP, PL Punia, who has been a target of Mr Verma's attacks, pounced on the minister's assertion that the Congress would not tie up with the SP but could consider partnering the BSP. "The Congress will never join hands with the SP or BSP because this party fought the election against the goondaism and corruption of both the parties," Mr Punia, who is Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes, said.
Mr Verma was till recently a prominent leader of the Samajwadi Party. A long-time MP, he first contested on a Congress ticket in the 2009 General Elections and has earned the scorn of SP leader Akhilesh Yadav who said the Congress had got itself "a commander on rent" who had failed to deliver.
Exit polls have predicted that Mr Yadav's Samajwadi Party will emerge as the single largest party in UP. Those polls have placed the Congress fourth after even the BJP, despite the Rahul Gandhi effort and effect. Mr Khurshid said today, "Exit polls haven't given us a picture that meets our expectations. Worst case scenario - better than before. Let's wait till tomorrow and face reality."