Trouble times ahead for UPCC chief?

LUCKNOW: Is the defection of the former president of UP Mahila Congress to SP a bad omen for the newly-appointed UPCC chief, Arun Kumar Singh Munna? Even as Munna in his inimitable style, brushed away the Bajpai betrayal, his partymen are far from dismissive about it. Terming it as the first salvo fired by the the disgruntled section, the move, they feel, could well be the beginning of the troubled times ahead for Munna.Rumour mills on Friday worked overtime speculating about the possible names who could be next in line to walk into the SP fold.And the list included some of the best known faces in UP Congress. Providing much grist to them was the declaration of the party president that many more could go Bajpai way in days ahead.Bajpai's defection, per se is of no consequence said a senior leader and can best be summed up in the one liner made by Munna aise guldaste Mulayam Singh Yadav ko hi mubarak hon. But what is particularly worrisome is the presence of hidden hands that engineered the move.The needle of suspicion, he declared, is pointed towards the CLP leader Pramod Tiwari, who had done much to further the career graph of his favoured protege. In fact, sources recalled the issue of giving assembly elections ticket to a political lightweight like Bajpai which caused a mini revolt in the party as most of the senior leaders and cadre took up cudgels on behalf of Ram Kumar Bhargava, the former MLA from the Biswan. Her defeat surprised none but embarrassed many.And as Bajapi had already resigned as Mahila Congress president, she stood no chance of rehabilitation specially after the entry of Munna, whose no love lost relationship with Tiwari is known to all.So, while most of the Congress men scotched the rumour of Tiwari's probable defection to SP, many felt that the game of one-upmanship between the two will hot up. And knowing them, it would be a no holds barred show, said a Congress leader who termed Ranjana episode as merely a curtain raiser.