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Dalit leader to take over as Uttar Pradesh Congress chief today as party looks to make inroads into BSP base
Brijlal Khabri has been tasked with reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh; five of six new zonal presidents of UPCC also associated with BSP
Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri, 61, who takes over as the new Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president here on Saturday, had lost his deposit while contesting the Mehroni seat of Lalitpur in the 2022 Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
Khabri had lost from the same constituency in the 2017 Uttar Pradesh assembly polls, too.
As new state chief, he has been given the responsibility of reviving the Congress in Uttar Pradesh. A former Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader, Khabri is known for his strong organisational skills.
He had worked closely with the BSP founder Kanshi Ram. He had joined the Congress in 2016, months before the 2017 assembly elections. He has been given a team of six zonal presidents while appointments of other office bearers will follow. But he is not the only BSP leader who has been given important post for party’s revival.
Five of six zonal presidents have been associated with the BSP one way or the other.
“There is anguish among the Congress leaders of Uttar Pradesh. The Congress leadership, in a way, has put the party organisation in the hands of leaders who have come from the BSP. Five of the six zonal presidents are former BSP leaders. We are not sure how many of the party workers will recognise Khabri or his team and be there to welcome the new UPCC president when he assumes office on Saturday,” said a party leader on condition of anonymity.
Khabri’s appointment has given indications that the Congress is not only shifting focus on pursuing Dalit politics, but is also attempting to make inroads into the BSP’s support base.
Will Khabri be able to accomplish what the party high command expects from him ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections?
“Khabri has come from the BSP and he may be helpful to woo the party’s vote bank. The Congress will get a new life if Khabri and his team are able to make inroads into the BSP’s support base. The Dalits were with the Congress before the emergence of the BSP; Khabri also needs to infuse new blood in the Congress,” said Professor SK Dwivedi, former head of department of political science, Lucknow University.
Brijlal Khabri was not available for comment.
It remains to be seen whether he will be able to take along the party cadres, a task that his predecessor Ajay Kumar Lallu failed to accomplish? Lallu had resigned from the UPCC president’s post following the party’s debacle in 2022 assembly elections. He had taken over as the new UPCC president with much fanfare on October 11, 2019 to rebuild the party after its humiliating defeat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Those aware of developments draw parallels between the party’s move to appoint Lallu and Khabri as UPCC president in 2019 and 2022 respectively. Lallu, who was appointed to revive the Congress amid opposition from the party’s senior leaders, supposedly failed to take the party workers along. Instead of listening to party’s senior leaders, the Congress high command resorted to their expulsion.
There is said to be resentment among the party workers against the appointment of Khabri as UPCC president.
Whether he will be able to win the confidence of party leaders or build a new cadre for the Congress ahead of 2024 Lok Sabha polls will be watched keenly in the coming months.
