These are the 5 key young Congress leaders ‘sidelined’ like Jyotiraditya Scindia was
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These are the 5 key young Congress leaders ‘sidelined’ like Jyotiraditya Scindia was

These 5 have not been given big responsibilities and there's also an increasing feeling, say Congress leaders, that their careers won’t progress under Rahul Gandhi.

Moushumi Das Gupta    
From left: Deepender Hooda, Milind Deora, Jitin Prasada, Sandeep Dikshit and Sachin Pilot

From left: Deepender Hooda, Milind Deora, Jitin Prasada, Sandeep Dikshit and Sachin Pilot | ThePrint

New Delhi: It’s not only former Union minister and four-term MP Jyotiraditya Scindia who was in a dilemma about his prospects in the Congress before he decided to jump ship and join the BJP. There are almost half-a-dozen Congress leaders who are caught in a similar dilemma.

But it’s not just about their personal ambitions. There is also a sense of alienation among some leaders coupled with an increasing feeling that they won’t progress under former Congress president Rahul Gandhi, according to Congress leaders.

Party leaders also say there is a growing realisation among many of these leaders that the Congress’ public stance on many important issues, including the government’s revocation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, is not in sync with public sentiment.

“There are many young leaders in the party who feel that they are not being allowed to grow politically. There is a kind of glass ceiling. And many of them have national ambitions,” said a Congress leader who did not want to be named.

A party insider said the Congress high command does not want young leaders to rise because they don’t want anyone to “outshine him (Rahul Gandhi)”.

“You are not allowed to have divergent views. There is a sense of alienation. And a growing feeling that their political career won’t progress under Rahul Gandhi,” said the insider.

Also read: It’s ghar wapsi for Jyotiraditya Scindia, and we welcome him wholeheartedly: Shivraj Chouhan

Sachin Pilot

Despite being close to Rahul Gandhi, 42-year-old Pilot has been denied bigger responsibilities in the party.

In the run-up to the Rajasthan assembly elections, though the Congress did not announce a CM face, it was assumed that Pilot will be the front-runner for the post.

As the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee president for five years, Pilot had worked assiduously to revive the party in the state. 

But when Congress defeated the BJP and the time came to pick the chief minister, the party chose veteran leader Ashok Gehlot over Pilot, who had to settle for the post of the deputy CM.

“Considering the work he had put in ahead of the assembly elections, he was the perfect choice for the CM post. But the party high command chose to repose faith in the old guard,” said another Congress leader, who too did not want to be named.

Milind Deora

Another young leader who is part of Rahul’s gang was former MP from South Mumbai Milind Deora. But his disillusionment with the way the party has treated him has only grown in recent past.

Although he was made the Mumbai Regional Congress Committee president ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, Deora, 43, eventually quit from the post in July after Congress’ disastrous performance in the Lok sabha elections.

Deora has been increasingly sidelined in the party since then.

He was among the Gandhi loyalists who digressed from the party line and supported the Article 370 move.

Deora had defended the Narendra Modi government’s decision in a series of tweets. 

“Parties should put aside ideological fixations & debate what’s best for India’s sovereignty and federalism, peace in J&K, jobs for Kashmiri youth and justice for Kashmiri Pandits,” he had tweeted.

He had said that revoking Article 370 could well be “dubbed Modi Sarkar 2.0’s demonetisation moment”, but hoped it played out more favourably.

Also read: The many hurdles Jyotiraditya Scindia faces in BJP before he can fulfil his dreams

Jitin Prasada

The Congress’ Brahmin face from Uttar Pradesh, former Union minister Jitin Prasada, is another young leader who has not been given any significant responsibility. 

He is just a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body. 

Even in the Uttar Pradesh unit of the Congress, where 46-year-old Prasada was in reckoning for the state chief’s post for long, he eventually lost out. Prasada hasn’t been given any responsibility in the party organisation at the AICC level either.

Prasada also supported the government’s Article 370 move and PM Modi’s efforts to tackle the population explosion.

At a CWC meeting held last year, Prasada had questioned the Congress’ decision to oppose the Article 370 move and said the party’s stance on the issue will go against the public sentiment.

In September 2019, Prasada had supported Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s concern about India’s burgeoning population.  

“It’s time to sensitise and make India aware of the need for population control/stabilisation. It has been the part of @INCIndia Panchmarhi shivir sakalp to work towards the goal of the two-child norm,” Prasada had tweeted.

“To start with Congress workers should mobilise 10 families to adopt population control measures based on the two child norm,” Prasada had added in a second tweet.

Deepender Hooda

Three-term MP Deepender Hooda, who is the son of former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, has also remained sidelined in the party. He is another young Congress leader who is perceived to have mass support.

Hooda is in the reckoning for a Rajya Sabha nomination but the party high command hasn’t given any final decision yet. Deepender hasn’t been given any organisational responsibility either.

He too openly went against the Congress’ stand on the Article 370 move. 

Supporting the Modi government’s decision, 42-year-old Deepender had said that scrapping of the provisions of Article 370 was in the interest of “national integrity”.

Sandeep Dikshit

Late Congress leader and former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit is another Congress leader who has been left with no organisational role.

Dikshit, 55, has not been given his due for long.

In the Delhi assembly elections held in February, Dikshit was hardly involved in any decision-making or strategising.

After the results were declared and Congress drew a blank in the 70-member assembly, Dikshit said it didn’t come as a surprise to him.

“We were nowhere there. We tried to showcase the work done by Sheilaji but it was done really late because unfortunately Subhash Chopraji was given the responsibility really late,” Dikshit had said.

This report has been updated to reflect that Deepender Hooda is a three-term MP and not two-term as mentioned earlier. 

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