Cong begins hunt for state chiefs in Haryana, HP, Delhi
NEW DELHI: The Congress has begun the search for new chiefs of its party units in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai, said a party functionary familiar with the developments. The changes are aimed at ending in-fighting in some of the states and giving a fresh start to the party in others.
The grand old party is out of power in these states and the immediate task of the new chiefs would be to revive the organisation ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
NEW DELHI: The Congress has begun the search for new chiefs of its party units in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Mumbai, said a party functionary familiar with the developments. The changes are aimed at ending in-fighting in some of the states and giving a fresh start to the party in others.
The Congress is out of power in these states and the immediate task of the new chiefs would be to revive the organisation ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Delhi Congress chief Ajay Maken, who is unwell and went abroad last month for a health check, has conveyed to the party’s leadership that it will be difficult for him to continue on medical grounds.
“I have informed the leadership about my health concerns,” Maken said.
A strong votary of not allying with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, Maken took over as the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief in Delhi in March 2015 soon after the party’s rout in the assembly elections.
He replaced Arvinder Singh Lovely who switched over to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in April 2017 before returning to the fold in February.
The functionary, who asked not to be named said the party leadership is looking at several options, with one school of thought suggesting that former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit be appointed as the PCC chief with three working presidents – one each from Muslim, Jat and Bania (trader) communities.
When contacted, the former chief minister said, “I don’t known anything about it.”
Another section wants the reins to be handed over to someone open to an alliance with the AAP for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, given that the party’s top central leadership is keen on a partnership with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party in Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.
The names of veteran leader Mahabal Mishra, former Lok Sabha member Sandeep Dikshit, Sharmistha Mukherjee and Devender Yadav have been discussed the functionary said. While Sandeep Dikshit is actively involved in the party’s election campaign in Madhya Pradesh , Mishra is a known face among the Purvanchalis in the national capital.
Purvanchalis constitute roughly about 3-4 million of Delhi’s population of around 20 million and have the ability to influence the outcome in at least 30 of the state’s 70 assembly seats.
In the current assembly, there are 12 legislators from Purvanchal; present Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) chief and Lok Sabha member from North East Delhi Manoj Tiwari and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are also from the region.
Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar is set to seek re-election from Gurdaspur in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, and hence will not be able to devote much time to the organisational affairs in the state, the party functionary said.
In neighbouring Haryana, the ongoing power tussle between state chief Ashok Tanwar and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda has resulted in intense infighting.
“This factionalism could hurt the party prospects in next year’s assembly elections in Haryana, where we have a strong chance to come back to power,” the functionary said.
Tanwar, a former Lok Sabha member from Sirsa and a Dalit leader, took over as the state chief in February 2014.
“I had been entrusted the responsibility of strengthening the party in Haryana and I am doing so for the past four years. Today, we are in a position to win all the Lok Sabha seats and form the government whenever assembly elections are held. The rest leadership will take a call and they know what is the best for the party,” Tanwar said.