Gurugram: Captain Ajay Yadav, a prominent Haryana leader who was removed from the position of the national president of the Congress’ OBC cell, said that he had offered to resign after the October 2024 assembly elections but was urged to continue by Rahul Gandhi’s office.
Yadav was in Solapur, Maharashtra, attending an OBC cell event as the chief guest when he learned of the party brass’ decision to replace him with Bihar leader Anil Jaihind. The senior Congress leader had held the post for three years and two months.
“If the party wanted a change, I could have been asked to resign gracefully instead of being humiliated like this,” Yadav told ThePrint, as he revealed that his offer to step down was not accepted by Rahul’s office.
Last year, the senior leader was critical in his statements against the Haryana leadership after the Congress failed to dislodge the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) despite an anti-incumbency wave against the ruling party that had completed two consecutive terms.
On Tuesday, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) replaced Yadav with Bihar leader Anil Jaihind as its chairperson of the OBC department. The decision is the first significant organisational change in Haryana following the AICC convention in Gujarat, signalling a shift in the Congress party’s internal dynamics.
Yadav further alleged that a faction within the Congress party orchestrated his ouster, though he stopped short of naming the individuals saying that it was an internal matter.
On Friday, the former Haryana minister went on to voice his anguish at his removal in one of his posts on ‘X’.
In his first post, he thanked the Congress brass for entrusting him with the OBC Cell and conveyed wishes to his successor, Jaihind.
The second post—in which senior leaders Rahul Gandhi and K.C.Venugopal were tagged—was critical, as Yadav asserted that he was unceremoniously removed by the Congress president. “This is a conspiracy by a coterie to humiliate me. I have seen many ups and downs in my 40 year political career as I had already resigned but was requested by PS of Rahul Gandhi ji Mr Kaushal Vidhyarthi to withdraw my resignation. A parallel OBC NGO was being given weightage, led by Navin Jahind, to organise seminars, so I am not really surprised… (sic),” he posted.
Yadav claimed he had worked tirelessly to bolster the OBC cell across 14 states over the past three months, questioning what shortcomings prompted his removal.
Former minister, six-time MLA
A former Army officer, Yadav is a key figure in Haryana’s Ahirwal region. A six-time MLA from Rewari, he served as a minister in the Haryana government under chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, holding portfolios such as power, forests, and environment.
Known for his grassroots connect, Yadav has connections in other parties. His son Chiranjeev Rao is married to Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) head and former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad’s daughter Anushka.
The Congress leader contested the 2019 Lok Sabha elections from Gurugram but lost to BJP’s Rao Inderjit Singh by a margin of 3.86 lakh votes, a loss that weakened the party’s hold in Ahirwal region.
In 2024, the party didn’t give him ticket and instead fielded actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar from Gurugram, but he too was trounced by Rao Inderjit Singh.
After the October 2024 Haryana elections in which his son lost from Rewari, Yadav had announced that he had quit the Congress because of “shabby treatment”, but later changed his mind.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
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