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HomePoliticsPriyanka Gandhi resigned as Congress’s UP general secretary in October, no replacement...

Priyanka Gandhi resigned as Congress’s UP general secretary in October, no replacement yet

Priyanka tendered her resignation to interim president Sonia Gandhi after new team was appointed for UP Congress. She is looking for role in poll-bound states, it is learnt.

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New Delhi: Priyanka Gandhi Vadra resigned from her position as the Congress general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh in October 2022, before Mallikarjun Kharge was elected the party president, ThePrint has learnt. 

The party is without an in-charge in the country’s most politically dominant state for eight months.

Priyanka had tendered her resignation to then interim president Sonia Gandhi after a new team was appointed for the Uttar Pradesh Congress, said two separate sources in the All India Congress Committee (AICC). She’s now looking for a new role in election-bound states where she can campaign as seen in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka.

Brijlal Khabri was appointed the president of the Uttar Pradesh unit on 1 October last year, replacing Ajay Lallu, while Kharge was elected the party president on 19 October. Khabri’s appointment was made as per an order by K.C. Venugopal’s office. Venugopal is the general secretary (organisation) in the party.

While all general secretaries and in-charges tendered their resignation to Kharge to set the ball rolling for a new organisational team, Priyanka had done it before.

“She thought that it would set a precedent as general secretaries don’t usually resign after election losses. She’s now looking to be involved in election campaigns across states and may not return to UP,” said a source close to Priyanka. 

Her resignation came about seven months after the UP elections in February-March last year.

Meanwhile, Kharge is yet to constitute a new Congress Working Committee (CWC) and a team of general secretaries and in-charges.

In April-May 2022, Priyanka led the Congress campaign in Uttar Pradesh with her woman-centric Ladki Hoon, Ladd Sakti Hoon campaign. The party fielded 40 percent women candidates for the election, but managed only 2 seats in the 403-member Uttar Pradesh assembly. Consequently, Congress was also left with no member in the UP Legislative Council for the first time ever.

Since the Uttar Pradesh election, Priyanka has visited Lucknow only once in last July and was last seen when the Bharat Jodo Yatra passed through the state for 2 days. She, however, was extensively involved in the Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka election campaigns.

While Priyanka was the main campaign face in Himachal, she announced the Gruha Lakshmi scheme which promised minimum income of Rs 2,000 to all women head of households in Karnataka. She addressed almost 30 rallies in Karnataka, more than Rahul Gandhi.

She’s been doing rallies in Telangana and Chhattisgarh as well and is scheduled to visit Madhya Pradesh on 12 June.

Right after the Uttar Pradesh election, Priyanka was also holding meetings with the Odisha unit of the Congress party which was later re-constituted.

“Her next organisational role will be decided by the Congress president, but she is keen to be in the thick of election campaigns. She is yet to be offered a role, but she will be more involved in election campaigns going forward,” said an AICC member.

(Edited by Tony Rai)


Also Read: How Kharge is forging ‘consultative consensus’ in Congress with open-door policy & a side of humour


 

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