Cong nominee pulls out from Panchayat poll in Amethi

The Congress literally surrendered the post of district panchayat chairman in Rahul Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency of Amethi to the ruling Samajwadi Party (SP) after its nominee withdrew her nomination at the eleventh hour.

Krishna Chaurasia’s decision to pull out from the race  stunned the local leaders, who made it clear that they were not taken into confidence before withdrawing her name from the contest.

According to the district officials, Chaurasia withdrew her papers on Monday, which was the last day for withdrawal, leaving the SP candidate Shivkali Maurya as the lone contestant in the fray. Shivkali was later declared elected unopposed. Some local Congress leaders suspected a conspiracy behind the withdrawal and alleged that the ruling party might have exerted pressure on Krishna to withdraw from the contest. 

The opposition parties in the state have accused the SP of misusing official machinery and resorting to threats and coercive tactics to force rival nominees to withdraw from the contest. SP nominees had been declared elected unopposed in around 35 districts amid allegations of threats.