Senior Haryana Congress leader vents out 'frustration' on social media

New Delhi: Senior Haryana Congress leader Ajay Sharma took to social media to vent out his anger over the denial of a ticket to him from Narnaul constituency. 

In a series of tweets, Sharma, an All India Congress Committee (AICC) member, lamented that loyal, dedicated and hard-working party workers have been ignored in ticket distribution to accommodate the kins of senior leaders and former ministers. 

Sharma, who has been in the Congress for over 38 years, had applied for the party ticket from the Narnaul constituency.

However, the party leadership chose to nominate former minister Rao Narender Singh, who has twice (2014 and 2019) lost the elections from the same seat, and came third on both occasions out of which he once forfeited his deposit too. 

लगातार दो बार चुनाव हारे तीसरे नंबर पर आये और जमात ज़ब्त हो गई
लेकिन पूर्व मंत्री के पुत्र होने की वजह से टिकट दिया गया ।
मेरा38 साल संगठन में काम करना काम नहीं आया ।मेरा पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व एक प्रश्न है
मेरा अपराध क्या है @INCIndia @kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi

— Ajay sharma (@Ajaysharmaaicc) September 13, 2024

Son of former minister Rao Bansi Singh, Rao Narender joined the Congress soon after getting elected on the ticket of Haryana Janhit Congress (HJC) of former chief minister Bhajan Lal in the 2009 elections. 

"My 38 years of hard work in the party didn't matter at all. I want to ask one question to the top leadership of my party. What is my crime?" he wrote on X. 

लगातार दो बार चुनाव हारे तीसरे नंबर पर आये और जमात ज़ब्त हो गई
लेकिन पूर्व मंत्री के पुत्र होने की वजह से टिकट दिया गया ।
मेरा38 साल संगठन में काम करना काम नहीं आया ।मेरा पार्टी के शीर्ष नेतृत्व एक प्रश्न है
मेरा अपराध क्या है @INCIndia @kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi

— Ajay sharma (@Ajaysharmaaicc) September 13, 2024

Sharma had closely worked with several senior leaders, including the late Ahmed Patel, Choudhary Birender Singh, Asha Kumari, Ghulam Nabi Azad (who has now formed his own party) and former union minister RPN Singh (who has since joined the BJP). 

Sharma had helped the organisation in many states and was instrumental in the party's victories in Punjab (2017) and Jharkhand (2019). 

Sharma was critical of dynastic politics, nepotism and favouritism prevailing in the Congress. 

NewsDrum reported on Thursday that the Congress list for Haryana was dominated by dynasts with children of many senior leaders and former ministers getting preference over other winnable candidates. 

"Workers from ordinary backgrounds have to struggle hard throughout while children of big shots always get preference," Sharma tweeted. 

सामान्य परिवार के कार्यकर्ताओंको अधिक संघर्ष करना पड़ता है ,बड़े बाप के बेटों को प्राथमिकता दी जाती है@INCIndia @INCHaryana @kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @ajaymaken

— Ajay sharma (@Ajaysharmaaicc) September 13, 2024

"My late father was neither a legislator nor a Member of Parliament. Now, I will get him back from heaven and work for making him a big man in the party, only then do I think I would succeed," he said in another tweet. 

मेरे पिता एमपी एमएलए नहीं रहे ।अब उन्हें स्वर्ग से लाकर पार्टी में बड़ा आदमी बनवाने में लगूँगा तब शायद मैं कामयाब हो जाऊँ@INCIndia @INCHaryana @kharge @RahulGandhi @priyankagandhi @kcvenugopalmp @ajaymaken

— Ajay sharma (@Ajaysharmaaicc) September 13, 2024

Sharma's tweets were described by many Congress leaders as his way of venting out the frustration given that the party leadership has become inaccessible for ordinary workers. They also claimed that no grievance redressal mechanism existed in the party.