More Cong leaders may be weighing their options
LUCKNOW: A number of senior Congress leaders have left the party over the years and many more may do so ahead of the 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh, said people claiming to be privy to the developments.
Jitin Prasada, Rita Bahuguna Joshi and Jagdambika Pal are some of the top leaders from Uttar Pradesh who have switched loyalties to the BJP in recent years. Others may be weighing their options or waiting for an opportune time to do so. Although Congress leaders remained aware of the developments and watched them closely, the party failed to take corrective measures well in time, people familiar with the issue said.
“A few months before every assembly or parliamentary polls, the “aaya ram gaya ram” (political cross-over) phenomenon is witnessed in all the political parties, but the grand old party has remained in focus for this in recent years,” said a senior party leader when asked about reports that more leaders may be looking for options outside the party.
Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu said Jitin Prasada had no political base among the people and this was the reason that he failed win even an assembly election in 2017 when the party aligned with the Samajwadi Party (SP). He said Prasada’s exit would not make any difference to the party. Lallu said he was not aware of any other leader making moves to leave the Congress.
Others aware of the developments, however, admitted the party was going through a bad phase. “The Congress leadership should focus on strengthening the party organisation and ensure that the party is considered a contender for power,” said another leader.
“If some leaders are leaving the Congress, some will join it, too. Jitin Prasada’s overtures to the BJP have been known to the party. So are the moves of the other leaders. Jitin Prasada could have left the party when the Congress considered fielding him as a candidate from Lucknow in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. What did not materialise in 2019 appears to have worked now. This is the time for leaders to look for options. There are reports about another former Union minister who may be considering moving out. There are similar reports about the son of a senior leader. This number may be higher,” he said. Congress MLAs from Rae Bareli Aditi Singh and Rakesh Singh from Harchandpur (also in Rae Bareli) are known for their proximity with the BJP. A Congress petition to disqualify them from membership of the assembly has not worked and they continue to be party MLAs. Both of them are likely to look for their future outside the party in 2022.
“You know things work differently in the Congress. Major organisational changes are expected in the party at all-India level and this will have a fallout in Uttar Pradesh, too. We hope things will be worked out soon,” said the party leader.
After the Congress received a drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the party had dissolved all district and city units. Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had initiated a major programme to revamp the party. A new team of district and city unit leaders was picked up under the leadership of Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee president Ajay Kumar Lallu. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attended a training session for new office bearers at the Bhuemau guesthouse in Rae Bareli in January 2020. UPCC’s new team, however, evoked a mixed response and a dividing line persists between the old timers and the new team.