Sandeep Singh seems to have been given too much power.
NEW DELHI: With the immediate dissolution of the executive body of Congress’ Uttar Pradesh state unit after Rahul Gandhi briefly visited Hathras for the Sambhal violence incident, sources claim that the state unit had been unable to dispose of its duties and was unable to prepare a “sufficiently appealing” political ground for Rahul because of which his visit did not make much impact. According to sources within the party, there were expectations that there would be much buzz from the crowd over Rahul Gandhi’s visit, but the state unit barely managed to gather 200 workers, said a leader.
Subsequently, the state unit in-charge Avinash Pandey and state president Ajay Rai immediately conveyed to Rahul Gandhi how the state unit was functioning more at the behest of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s personal assistant Sandeep Singh, rather than on the directions of the official chiefs. It was after this that the executive body of the UP unit was dissolved. According to a political observer closely associated with the party, “The dissolution may have happened after consultation with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Because if Rahul Gandhi would do it on his own without informing his sister it could bring discord between the two siblings. Which is not the case. They are close to each other.”
According to a senior Congress leader, although the current state unit president Ajay Rai’s name for the post was also suggested by Sandeep Singh, yet over a period of time Rai felt shackled by Singh. He apparently couldn’t do anything on his own; couldn’t form his own team; couldn’t take his own decisions either. Subsequently, he aligned with the general secretary in-charge, Avinash Pandey, who too was fed up of Sandeep’s excessive usage of influence, resulting in making Pandey’s position worthless.
It seems after receiving overwhelming anti-Sandeep Singh feedback, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had openly said that he was her trusted lieutenant and therefore couldn’t be changed. This could have given him unlimited power within the organisation. According to a Congress leader in UP, “He is like the shadow of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, works in her jurisdiction (which can be anywhere except crossing Rahul Gandhi’s jurisdiction).”
As any political network grows on the foundation of trust. Congress leaders think that the political web, of which the Priyanka is the centre, has got weakened because of the loss of trust and the inability of leaders to interact one-on-one with Priyanka Gandhi. According to sources present in Parliament, when a Parliamentarian approaches for one-to-one talks and requests Priyanka to send her personal secretary Sandeep Singh away, she asserts that “whatever things you may share, Singh will be part of it”.
A senior Congress leader said, “He is second in command to Priyanka’s affairs but he manages things like he is the first in command and worse than that is that he hasn’t been held accountable for all the things that the UP cadre has been accusing him of. That is why there is widespread remorse over Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.”
Explaining how Sandeep Singh works, a Congress Lok Sabha MP said that he Singh makes haste to pick up the belongings (like handbag) of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra “although she rebuked him once in Parliament not to do so, insisting that she would do it herself”.
Besides there have been several other allegations against Singh, from misbehaviour to appointing people in positions based on wrong practices. However, leaders close to Singh say that all the allegations against him are false and motivated.