The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Wednesday dissolved the party's units at all levels in Haryana. This is being seen as an apparent attempt to bring in new faces, particularly when bickering within the party is being listed as a major reason behind the rout in the Lok Sabha polls. Also, assembly polls in Haryana are due in October.
The Congress had won nine of the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana in 2009, but is now left with only one after Verdict 2014.
Acknowledging that infighting was one of the main reasons behind the party's defeat, former MP Ashok Tanwar, who headed the now-dissolved state unit, told HT, "It has come out in the open that leaders and office-bearers of several units did not work for the party candidates during the LS polls." But he insisted that primarily the decision had been taken as "several of the units and leaders were inactive since long, so the state unit cried for an overhaul".
"After the debacle in the recent elections, I held talks with senior leaders, including candidates, former ministers, MLAs, as well as other office-bearers and workers of different units, and learnt that this change was required," Tanwar said.
Now, he said, the state Congress would launch a district-level drive from June 5, which would be addressed by AICC general secretary (Haryana incharge), Shakeel Ahmed, chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Asha Kumari, AICC secretary, besides himself. "Preparations for the Vidhan Sabha elections would also be discussed during these meetings," he said.
{{/usCountry}}Now, he said, the state Congress would launch a district-level drive from June 5, which would be addressed by AICC general secretary (Haryana incharge), Shakeel Ahmed, chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, and Asha Kumari, AICC secretary, besides himself. "Preparations for the Vidhan Sabha elections would also be discussed during these meetings," he said.
{{/usCountry}}According to the party schedule, the meeting in Sonepat would be held on June 5, June, Sirsa on June 6, Yamunanagar/Panchkula on June 7, Panipat on 8, Kurukshetra on 9, Bhiwani on 12, Mewat/Palwal on 14, Jind on 15, Ambala on 16, Faridabad on 19, Narnaul/Rewari on 20, Fatehabad/Kaithal on 23, Karnal on 26, Hisar on 27, and Jhajjar/Gurgaon on June 28.