Warring Tytler, Sharma replaced

PATNA: When the axe finally fell on Wednesday, it took both the warring groups by surprise. Supporters of both AICC Bihar in-charge Jagdish Tytler and BPCC president Anil Sharma were stunned when the two were replaced by Mukul Wasnik and Choudhary Mehboob Ali Qaiser, respectively.
Both camps had been claiming that AICC would remove the other soon. And, both expected a status quo following the meeting called by AICC president Sonia Gandhi where Tytler and Sharma were asked to bury their differences.
On Wednesday, Sharma finally appeared before the media, stating that he had accepted the decision gracefully. “I am grateful to Sonia Gandhi for giving me the opportunity to serve the party and I thank the party workers, who helped me increase the party’s vote percentage from five to 15% in the state,” he said, appealing to the Congressmen to support the new leadership.
Sadaquat Ashram, which was dominated by Sharma supporters, wore a deserted look though. The crowd had shifted to 175, Pataliputra Colony, the residence of the new incumbent, where Congress leaders and workers made a beeline with garlands and sweets. Qaiser was flanked by CLP chief Ashok Ram and MLC Mahachandar Prasad Singh, both of whom were instrumental in the removal of Sharma.
Qaiser, a three-term MLA and carrying the political heritage of his father late Choudhary Salauddin, is suave and articulate in both English and Hindi. But he has task cut out for him.
“There is hardly any time as we go to polls in another four months. My first priority is to ensure that the party does well in the Assembly election. Everything else is secondary,” he said.