After Maharashtra loss, Venugopal in eye of storm

New Delhi: After the back-to-back humiliating defeats in the two Assembly elections of Haryana and Maharashtra, the Congress leaders point fingers towards the weak organisational strength and half-hearted leadership of Organisation General Secretary K.C. Venugopal, who is responsible for “overseeing” and “managing” the party’s internal structure and operations.
Congress leaders have pointed to a lack of coordination between the central, state, and local leadership in Maharashtra as it was evident that there was no unity over issues they were picking up in front of the people. During the election, according to party insiders, the General Secretary (Organisation) must play a key role in formulating strategies and managing on-the-ground campaigns. However, in Maharashtra, the state was divided in 10 regions by the grand old party, and many leaders were given responsibilities to head the election responsibilities there, but most of them refused to work on the ground. 
According to party insiders, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) had conducted around 60,0000 meetings on ground during the election preparations which helped the BJP-led Mahayuti consolidate voters in different regions in the state. On the other hand, there was no activity even close to that from the Maha Vikas Aghadi, consisting of Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray, NCP led by Sharad Pawar and the Congress party. 
A senior Congress leader said, “The GSO often oversees initiatives related to expanding membership and strengthening grassroots connections, mobilising volunteers, and engaging with local constituencies. But what Venugopal has done with the Congress organisation is unimaginable. It is the lowest the Congress has been now with its organisational strength. Congress cadre has eroded to extreme levels. So, the question is what is he there for if he is not able to manage the party on any front?”
Rahul Gandhi, according to a leader privy to the developments, is aware of the shortcomings of K.C. Venugopal all through his tenure, however, he has kept him in the position because he thinks that no matter what happens, he will not leave the party.
A Congress leader said, “There were many smart politicians close to Rahul Gandhi who could have dealt with the political vagaries but most of them have left the party, whether it be Jyotiraditya Scindia, Milind Deora RPN Singh and others.
Therefore, the Gandhi scion has not wanted to take risk by appointing a smarter politician.”
According to a political analyst, “Overall, the party did not disturb the status quo in any state. They continued with the old leadership in every state except Telangana. However, the leadership’s role is to make changes and give responsibilities to capable leaders and pursue victory or be victory-centric rather than be afraid of the regional satraps and bow in front of their pressures. The central leadership in Congress may have been blackmailed on several occasions, whether it be in Madhya Pradesh or Rajasthan or the most recent in Haryana.”
Political analysts think, the functioning of the Congress has become extremely slow as compared to the BJP. As the GSO even after losing consecutive elections of Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Rajasthan, Haryana and Maharashtra he has continued to call the shots in the organisation which most of the Congress leaders say are done without given any thought.