Congress postpones Haryana unit and district chief picks due to factional lobbying.
New Delhi: Despite having collected observer recommendations for district president appointments, the Congress party is likely to delay the final announcement of district unit chiefs and the Haryana state unit president, party sources said. The delay is reportedly due to ongoing lobbying by several senior leaders and efforts to build a consensus.
Observers had been appointed to suggest at least six names for each district president position in Haryana.
These recommendations were submitted to the party leadership via email on June 30, with several also handed over in person to state in-charge BK Hariprasad during meetings held on Wednesday and Thursday.
However, dissatisfaction is brewing among several party leaders, who claim they were not given a fair hearing during the consultation process. Many are now seeking a direct meeting with central leadership before any formal announcement is made.
The Congress is undertaking the district president appointments after a gap of 12 years, with the last such exercise taking place in 2013.
A senior party source familiar with the developments in Haryana said that the process will take time, citing intense lobbying by different factions to secure positions for their supporters in the district committees. “The process is underway and will likely conclude by the end of this month,” the source added.
On Thursday and Friday, Hariprasad and Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal held one-on-one meetings with the observers from Haryana to assess the recommendations and review the state’s political landscape.
Meanwhile, another source confirmed that there will be a further delay in appointing the Haryana Congress president and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader. “The focus is on finalizing the district presidents first, a process that has been pending for over a decade,” the source said.
He clarified that while discussions on the state unit chief and CLP leader are ongoing, the leadership wants to proceed step-by-step, starting with district level appointments.
The Congress has not named a new Haryana unit chief or CLP leader since October last year, following the conclusion of the state assembly elections. The party had a disappointing performance, winning only 37 out of 90 seats, failing to dislodge the BJP from power.
Despite internal factionalism and competing ambitions, the party remains optimistic under the leadership of Hariprasad, who has extensive experience in managing party affairs in northern states.
The leadership is hopeful of completing all pending appointments by next month.
