Vertical division in Congress before Election.

New Delhi, Nov 11 (PTI) Apparently facing disciplinary action, Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva today resigned from her post after creating a storm by her stinging criticism of the party in election ticket distribution, drawing sharp criticism from various leaders.
The morning after she met Congress President Sonia Gandhi and A K Antony, Chairman of the party's Disciplinary Action Committee, Alva sent her resignation to Gandhi this afternoon.

During the meeting with Gandhi last night, the 66-year-old veteran, who is also a member of the Congress Working Committee and Central Election Committee, is believed to have offered to resign from her post if her criticism had become an embarrassment.

Apparently not not wanting to be seen as leninent on indiscipline with elections round the corner, leaders were unsparing in criticism of Alva, a member of various high-level fora of the party.

Rahul Gandhi rejected her charges saying he was "not not unhappy" about ticket distribution. Those who attacked her included Congress' chief spokesman M Veerappa Moily, who said she had committed serious breach of discipline, Digvijay Singh and Ashok Ghelot.

There were also voices of support from senior leaders including Yogendra Makwana from Gujarat and R L Jalappa from her state Karnataka.

Last week, Alva, who is in charge of party affairs in several including Maharashtra and Punjab, had stirred a hornet's nest by saying that tickets during Karnataka assembly elections were sold and questioning the denial of ticket to her son Nivedith. PTI.Copyright must be reserved by PTI .

Vertical division in Congress before Election.

Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva today alleged that some leaders had sold party tickets during the Karnataka Assembly elections, and said the guidelines forbidding distribution of tickets to relatives were not being implemented in the six States going to the polls later this year.
In an interview to NDTV Indiahttp://ndtv.com/launch?video-play/, she said party leaders from outside Karnataka distributed tickets based on their own agenda.
''Some people sold tickets in Karnataka, but all these people lost the elections,'' she said and added that the Congress was itself to blame for its defeat in the May Assembly elections in the State.
''I am saying this openly that those who didn't have any knowledge of the constituencies or the local sentiments ended up deciding candidates (in Karnataka). When it comes to their own States, they say we are the leaders. We will decide.... Why was the principle not implemented in Karnataka'' she asked.
She accused the party leaders of having double standards on the issue of giving party tickets to relatives.
''Right now, each family is getting two-three tickets. The guidelines are not being implemented in the six States going to the polls in the near future,'' she said.