New Delhi: The Congress Monday delivered a snub to its Uttar Pradesh chief Raj Babbar, dissolving district committees and putting legislature party leader Ajay Kumar Lallu in-charge of making organisational changes in eastern UP.
The decision was taken by the general secretary in-charge of the region, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and her western UP counterpart Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The Congress’ move comes in the backdrop of its worst-ever performance in the state in the Lok Sabha elections, in which it won just one seat, Rae Bareli. It is being seen as a snub to Babbar since he remains the state Congress chief despite offering his resignation.
Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal, who issued the notification, told ThePrint that Lallu will work closely with Priyanka to overhaul the state unit.
“All of this has been done on the advice of Priyanka ji. He will be working under the aegis of Priyanka ji,” Venugopal said. “There are many organisational changes being undertaken by the party that she and Lallu will work on together.”
Rahul Gandhi’s choice
The appointment of Lallu, the 40-year-old Kushinagar MLA, is unexpected but also well-deserved, according to a senior UP Congress leader.
“This is not the first time Rahul Gandhi has chosen to promote Lallu. He handpicked him for two screening committees (to decide who gets an MLA ticket) before the Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh assembly elections,” the leader said on the condition of anonymity.
There are two messages in Lallu taking over the reorganisation drive in eastern UP, the leader said. First, the Congress has played the OBC card to counter the BJP’s “divisive” politics in the state. Second, it shows that the party wants to promote grassroot workers and not high-profile leaders.
“Lallu may not be PCC (Pradesh Congress Committee) chief, but his working charge is that of a president (to select district heads),” the leader said. “This definitely signals that Babbar is out.”
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Babbar’s resignation being debated
Babbar had offered his resignation after the debacle, an offer that he had also made after the assembly elections in 2017.
Asked if the central leadership had accepted his offer, Babbar told ThePrint that only the central leadership could answer that.
“I cannot comment on this, only the central leadership of the party can tell you about it,” he said.
Rana Goswami, secretary in-charge of western Uttar Pradesh, said Priyanka and Scindia are in talks about whether or not to accept Babbar’s resignation.
“The high command will shortly take that decision too,” Goswami said. “Babbar will continue till they decide to accept or reject his resignation. Discussions regarding a possible successor are also taking place.”
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