State Congress leaders want an urgent restructuring of the party organisation.
New Delhi: The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is likely to start organisational rejig in Haryana by the second week of July. The decision in this regard is being seen taken under pressure from the Congress’ state leadership.
Haryana Congress leaders have been insisting on an urgent restructuring of the party organisation so that they can start preparing for the upcoming Assembly polls. Haryana, along with Jharkhand and Maharashtra, will go to polls later this year. According to sources, a meeting in this regard is going to be held on Friday, where the party’s state convener, state president and other senior leaders will discuss the restructuring process.
A senior Congress leader told The Sunday Guardian: “Recognising the urgency of organisational rejig in Haryana, the central leadership has decided to hold a meeting on Friday where all the factions will be present. The party will discuss the appointment of its district presidents at the village level unit.”
“The AICC should urgently solve the leadership problem in Haryana as there is almost no time left for Assembly poll preparations. There are no district committees and village or block level committees present in the state. Rejig of the party organisation in Haryana is due since the last five years,” the same leader cited above said.
“The Congress leadership crisis has been going on since the results of the Lok Sabha polls were out. Party president Rahul Gandhi still seems rigid over his resignation offer and that has caused delay in restructuring of the state party unit. But due to the upcoming elections in Haryana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra, the AICC has decided to work on the restructuring process and conclude it soon. In case of Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, the process has already begun and Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand will follow suit,” a senior Congress leader from Haryana told The Sunday Guardian.
In Haryana, where the party lost all the 10 Lok Sabha seats, different factions convened different meetings to prepare for the Assembly polls. While former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda called a meeting of his supporters in Delhi on 9 June, Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee chief Ashok Tanwar met his supporters in Gurgaon on 12 June. There is a need to resolve this factionalism.
“Both the leaders have asked their supporters to get ready for Assembly polls without even knowing who will lead where and who will get the party’s tickets. Generally, regarding polls, whether Assembly or Lok Sabha, the AICC president is an authority to take a decision, but Haryana seems to be an exception to this rule just because of infighting,” the same Congress leader quoted above said.
The Congress’ situation is bad not only in Haryana, but in other poll-bound states too. In Maharashtra, where the party performed badly in Lok Sabha, the party is witnessing defection of its leaders and there is a need for restructuring of its allies in the state.