AICC suspects 'sabotage' in state NSUI election

BHUBANESWAR: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) suspects 'sabotage' of election for office-bearers of National Students Union of India (NSUI) last month.
On March 25, the polls were postponed following a clash between supporters of two candidates vying for the post of NSUI state president. Some ballot papers were set afire at Congress Bhawan, the poll venue.
"The AICC observers have given me a preliminary inquiry report in which supporters of two state Congress leaders suspected to have fomented violence. We have brought the matter to the notice of our high command and senior AICC functionaries. We will take strong action against those involved in disruption of the poll," AICC in-charge of NSUI Girish Chodankar told TOI over phone from Delhi.
He refused to divulge names of the troublemakers and nature of possible action against them.
NSUI's national president Roji M John said the election will be conducted in Odisha soon. "We will take adequate precautions to ensure smooth conduct of the polls. If required, we will install CCTV cameras at the polling venue," said John.
Itish Pradhan and Kiran Sahu, who were pitted against each other for NSUI state president, indulged the in blame game.
"I was about to win when the unruly supporters of my rival Kiran Sahu attacked me and my supporters. They snatched away the ballot boxes and burnt the ballot papers. Sahu's supporters picked up a quarrel with my supporters. They wanted to disrupt the polling process to escape imminent defeat," said Pradhan.
While Sahu could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, his supporters blamed Pradhan for the trouble. "Sahu's victory was imminent when Pradhan's supporters created trouble. Pradhan's goons hurled bombs and burnt ballot papers," said Deepak Mohanty, a supporter of Sahu.
State leaders attempted to downplay the 'infighting'. "I do not think any Congress leader is involved in the violence. The mischief was the handiwork of some outsiders," said senior Congress leader and former minister Suresh Routray.
Last month, police arrested some Youth and Student Congress members, including the outgoing NSUI outgoing state president Satyajit Pattnaik on charges of attacking chief minister Naveen Patnaik's car near Keshari Talkies here on February 19.