At a time when political parties are gearing up for 2022 assembly elections, the challenge before the Congress party in Uttar Pradesh is to bring its own house in order.
In yet another controversy, a senior party leader has now accused Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu of allegedly being anti-upper castes.
“Those from upper castes can’t work with Lallu. He is not capable of taking all sections of the society along. Under his leadership, party’s support base in the state is only narrowing,” said former UPCC secretary, Sunil Rai, while speaking to media persons at the Uttar Pradesh Press Club here on Friday.
“I have sent letters to Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and requested them to remove Lallu from UPCC president’s post,” said Rai.
Lallu was not available for comments.
Those aware of the developments in the party said, Rai had been targeting Lallu for past few months.
It all started after removal of a hoarding carrying pictures of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rai from near the UPCC headquarters a few months ago.
{{/usCountry}}It all started after removal of a hoarding carrying pictures of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rai from near the UPCC headquarters a few months ago.
{{/usCountry}}Rai claimed Lallu got the hoarding removed as it did not carry his picture and he got an FIR registered against the UPCC president narrating the whole issue.
A UPCC functionary, however, said Lallu had no role in removing the hoarding.
It may be the handiwork of some other rival partymen or the Lucknow Nagar Nigam that launches drives to remove hoardings from time to time, said the functionary.
This is, however, not for the first time that voices have been raised against Lallu.
A section of young partymen have already formed a group titled “Shoshit Congressi Savarn” and had been running a campaign on social media against Lallu, dubbing him as anti-Brahmin.
A group of party’s old timers had earlier accused Lallu of neglecting those who had spent their lives for the Congress. As many of them organised separate get together to celebrate birth anniversary of India’s first Prime Minister late Jawahar Lal Nehru on November 14, 2019, the UPCC expelled them.
Those expelled included former ministers and former MPs and legislators, mostly belonging to upper castes.
The action led to a divide between the old timers and Lallu’s new team constituted to lead the party in 2022 assembly elections.
Another party functionary said the Congress was already late in gearing up for the polls. “Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra though had been leading the party’s campaign against the BJP government at the centre and in the state, the party’s organizational infrastructure needed to be strengthened further. It is high time to make necessary changes and prepare party for 2022 polls,” said the functionary.
“The Congress does not appear to be in a mood to strengthen itself in the state. It should resolve the grievances of partymen and undertake an exercise to control the damage already done in Uttar Pradesh,” said SK Dwivedi, former head of department political science, Lucknow University.