Congress activists in about half-a-dozen states, including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh, are mounting pressure on the central leadership to take “corrective steps” without delay. The party organisation in these states, besides Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Goa, is not in a position to face any political challenge on its own, they feel.
While a delegation of Maharashtra Congress leaders, including legislators, on Tuesday met CWC member and AICC in-charge of party affairs in Maharashtra Mohan Prakash to appoint a new Mumbai Congress chief in place of Kripa Shankar Singh, who has resigned against the backdrop of cases and the Congress’ defeat in the BMC elections. They also told Mr Prakash that PCC chief Manikrao Thakre should also be changed.
The state Congress leaders concede privately that the current team — chief minister Prithviraj Chavan and Mr Thakre — cannot deliver either in the Lok Sabha or the Assembly polls for obvious reasons. Mr Chavan is said to be lobbying for Rohidas Patil to head the PCC. As far as Bihar is concerned, the AICC has never been serious on reviving the party in the state.
“It (the AICC) has not taken any decision on the resignation of Bihar PCC Mehboob Ali Kaiser after the Congress’ failure to cross single-digit figures in the Bihar elections,” they said. Former Bihar PCC chief Anil Sharma was on Tuesday seen along with his supporters in the AICC headquarters lobbying for his revival.
The story of UP is not different. The Congress has not yet elected its Legislature Party leader in UP. Asked about the delay, an UPCC official said: “It is for the AICC to decide on it (CLP leader).” The party has elected Mr Sunil Jakhar as the CLP leader in Punjab and Mr Pratap Singh Rane as the CLP leader in Goa.
Meanwhile, UP Congress leaders will meet here on April 6 to analyse the party’s defeat in the presence of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi. Newly-elected party UP MLAs and MPs have been called for the meeting.
which was earlier scheduled to take place last week. Candidates, who lost despite polling 20,000 votes and above, have also been called for a preliminary meeting with Mr Gandhi on April 5, party sources said. Party sources said that the candidates who had lost the Lok Sabha polls despite securing more than one lakh votes have also been called for the preliminary meeting being held by Mr Gandhi on April 5.