Congress in Madhya Pradesh aims to strengthen grassroots efforts, empowering a new generation of leadership.
New Delhi: The Congress party in Madhya Pradesh is expecting an increase in its street level politics as the leaders claim that the two movements of “Kisan Nyay Yatra” and “Beti Bachao Abhiyan” have gained momentum among masses. Moreover, the state leadership is planning to involve all the legislators and leaders in its grassroots activities to establish a bigger political network of the grand old party in the state.
A senior office bearer of Congress in the state said, “Kisan Nyay Yatra, which started from September 20 in all the districts of Madhya Pradesh was conducted by tractor rallies. Congress State President Jitu Patwari had himself led the rally in Indore. He has been given free hand to establish ground level connect with the masses. The centre is giving him a chance to emerge as a big leader. If the Congress improves its performance subsequently, Patwari could call the shots in grand scheme of things in the state.”
According to two senior leaders, there seems to be indications from the high command not to give positions in the party or roles in the organisation to those who are very close to Digvijay Singh and Kamal Nath, until they are close to them. Moreover, there is no responsibility given to Nath’s son in the organisation. He is not being given any importance and same is the case with the two veteran leaders. In addition to that, a huge chunk of the cadre believes that the two leaders have always tried to hamper the growth of the party by serving their own interests, more than serving the party.
According to party insiders, a senior official visited Singh to address concerns about his performance. During this meeting, Singh faced criticism for his actions, which the official later detailed in a letter. The letter emphasised how Singh’s functioning had resulted in significant losses for the party, highlighting his role in both, the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections in the state. According to a senior office bearer in the party, “The internal dynamics of the party have changed to a large extent. Workers do not take the two veteran leaders seriously. And this had led to rank and file shifting away from them. They are no more the power centres of the party. There is a belief among a huge chunk of party leaders that they may not reemerge in any capacity in the party.”
However, leaders close to Singh suggest that the Rajya Sabha MP is exploring ways to get a position at the AICC as a general secretary in charge as the party is expected to make important changes at the top. Yet, some leaders close to the Gandhis think that it would not be easy for Singh to come back at the centre.
The bigger development in the state is that the cadre may have permanently shifted away from the veteran leaders like Kamal Nath and Digvijay Singh, giving way to the second line leadership to compete and prove themselves in the organisational and electoral abilities. There will be less intervention of the two leaders or the leaders close to them.
A Congress leader in Madhya Pradesh said, “These big leaders who have been given immense power have destroyed the cadres. It was the Madhya Pradesh model that way at play in Haryana. There was anti-incumbency in Haryana, people were against the sitting government of the BJP, but the same party retained the government just like in Madhya Pradesh.”