PATNA, Nov. 22 -- The dissident leaders of the Bihar Congress, most of whom were served show-cause notices, staged dharna at the party's headquarters, Sadaqat Ashram, on Friday, demanding immediate removal of AICC Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru and state president Rajesh Ram. The protest, led by prominent dissidents including former spokesperson Anand Madhav, ex-minister Afaq Alam, former MLAs Chattarapati Yadav, Gajananand Shahi (Munna Shahi), Sudhir Kumar (Bunti Chaudhary), AICC member Madhurendra Kumar Singh and ex-general secretary Kaisar Khan, saw hundreds of workers raise slogans against "ticket-selling middlemen" and alleged infiltration by BJP-RSS elements. Speakers accused the state leadership of turning Bihar Congress into a "broker agency", humiliating loyal workers and handing tickets to outsiders for money. They claimed notices were illegally rushed (five days instead of the mandatory two weeks) and issued without AICC approval, Delhi approval, in violation of the party constitution. Adding fuel to the fire, Bihar Pradesh Mahila Congress president Sarwat Jahan Fatima resigned from her post, protesting the denial of a ticket to herself and the paltry 8% women candidates fielded by the party. "All my 12-13 predecessors got tickets; I mobilised women for 28 months but was ignored," she said. Dissidents recalled the gathering of assurances given by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and general secretary KC Venugopal on November 3 that complaints of ticket manipulation would be seriously examined after the polls. "Instead of the probe, we are being punished for speaking the truth," Madhav declared. The dharna ended with a warning: the fight will continue until Allavaru, Rajesh Ram and the three co-incharges - Shahnavaz Alam, Devendra Yadav and Sushil Pasi - are sacked and a probe ordered into financial irregularities during the election campaign and Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra in Bihar. With no response yet from the central leadership and tensions flaring even when independent MP Pappu Yadav tried to mediate, the Bihar unit appears fractured weeks after its worst-ever electoral performance. Insiders fear the infighting could severely hamper revival efforts before the 2029 Lok Sabha polls....