Cong office ransacked after replacement of LS poll candidate

Supporters of veteran Congress leader Satyanarayan Sharma today ransacked the party office here, enraged over not giving him ticket for Raipur Lok Sabha seat.

Around 50 supporters of Sharma reached the party office in the afternoon and started raising slogans against PCC chief Bhupesh Baghel, accusing him of acting as a BJP "agent" and demanded the candidature of Sharma, an MLA.

A party worker also threatened to commit suicide if Sharma was not given ticket from Raipur seat.

"The irate workers stormed the party office, broke chairs and threw eggs before the police was called," Kotwali City Superintendent of Police Anshuman Singh Sisodia said.

"However, the situation is under control and the crowd has been dispersed from the Congress Bhawan," Sisodia, who was present at the spot along with large number of police personnel, said.

Senior party leaders were not present in the office during the time of the protest.

Notably, Chhaya Verma had been nominated as Congress' candidate from Raipur parliamentary constituency, but later she was replaced by Sharma.

In an unprecedented move last night, Verma, belonging to Kurmi community, was finalised as candidate, replacing Sharma from the Raipur Lok Sabha seat.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders alleged that the ruling BJP was behind the protest, and ruled out the possibility of involvement of Sharma's supporters in ransacking the party office.

"The protestors seem to be the men of BJP. Ramesh Bais' (BJP nominee from Raipur seat) hand could be behind this (incident)," Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Kiranmayee Nayak alleged before reporters.

Commenting on the allegations of Nayak, BJP MLA and spokesman Shivratan Sharma said his party was not afraid of any candidate, whether it is Sharma or Verma, and will win Raipur seat with a huge margin.

"If they were the BJP workers then Congress should register complaint against them," Shivratan said.