The grand old party added one more dramatic chapter to its history, this time an embarrassing one for the ruling partners in Maharashtra, when it pulled out its official candidate, an import from the Bharatiya Janata Party, on the eve of the Nagpur Legislative Council polls, in which the local self-government representatives voted last week. Party’s apex body—the All India Congress Committee—which had announced the ex-BJP man’s candidature in the last week of November, shied away from issuing a letter of support for an independent. Instead, it authorised the state unit to declare, because it must have had enough embarrassing moments. Victory alone can neutralise the red-face effect in the Congress that overshadowed the immense interest the RSS worker-turned-BJP corporator Ravindra Bhoyar’s entry had created. Bhoyar was to take on his former party colleague, BJP’s ex-minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule. Instead, an independent Mangesh Deshmukh, who was one among the three contestants, challenged the Congress opponent.

Among various versions the Congress leaders have given, the one that blames the mess on the hasty selection of the turncoat appears somewhat founded. The majority Congress leaders say that due diligence wasn’t done before admitting Bhoyar, who has a strong connection with the RSS. They say that the announcement of Bhoyar’s candidature made within hours of his induction was nothing short of one-upmanship, rather than a wiser political move. Projected as a giant killer, the ex-BJP guy expressed inability to contest (the Congress letter of support to Deshmukh says so) and turned out to be a liability for the Congress leaders, who found yet another opportunity in the subsequent mess to get even with each other. Before the high command caved in at the eleventh hour, the blame game was played over a week preceding the polling day. The fight turned into compromises, albeit temporary, with the local leaders promising a stunner. Win or defeat, the Nagpur election has offered an invaluable lesson for picking the right persons for fielding in the elections, especially while importing them from the other parties. Congress had one, others may learn from it.