India, Oct. 19 -- justify;">On the day Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was protesting in the streets of Delhi, belligerently raising the public issue of 'vote chori', Congressmen in Lucknow publicly exchanged blows, seemingly over organisational changes, at the party headquarters. That their leader was being battered and bruised did not worry them. Nor did the fact that the crucial assembly elections are coming up and the party's prospects remained seemingly dismal.

Watching with dismay were senior Congress leaders, including the party deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Pramod Tiwari, and his MLA daughter, Aradhana Mishra, the newly elected Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president. It was her first day in office.

Significantly, the...