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Thin attendance of former legislators at UPCC meeting
Lucknow: A poor organisational infrastructure and a clear divide between the Congress’ old timers and the new team stare the Congress in the face as the party gears up for 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh
Lucknow: A poor organisational infrastructure and a clear divide between the Congress’ old timers and the new team stare the Congress in the face as the party gears up for 2022 assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh.
About 20 to 25 former legislators, out of more than 150 invited, turned up at the meeting that Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) president Ajay Kumar Lallu convened at the UPCC headquarters here to seek their suggestions for making the party organisation ready for the polls.
A picture that Lallu posted on social media also showed about 20 people in the audience and four to five on the dais when Lallu delivered his address there. “This picture must have been taken at the beginning. We understand 40 to 45 former legislators attended the meeting. We did not invite many, only a select few of former legislators,” said a former MLA while defending the poor turnout at the UPCC headquarters.
Others who attended the meeting said this was a reflection on the poor infrastructure that the party had at the grassroots level ahead of polls. “We don’t see the Congress at grassroots level anywhere in the state. We have no organisational infrastructure in many constituencies. As the BJP may face strong anti-incumbency in the 2022 polls, the people have begun talking about the Samajwadi Party as an alternative. The Congress does not figure because of poor organisational infrastructure and should find the reasons for this,” said a senior leader.
Others who turned up at the meeting said Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra should be more active in the state and begin her tours now. There were also demands for projecting Priyanka as the chief minister’s face of the Congress in the forthcoming polls.
A suggestion to consider options for alliance was made but many leaders opposed this, saying the Congress would suffer badly if a decision for any alliance was taken. A demand to inform the party’s would be candidates well in time was also made as the party’s list of candidates was often declared at the last minute.
When contacted, some of the former MLAs said they were busy in their assembly constituencies and so they could not make it to the meeting at the UPCC headquarters on Tuesday. “Lallu appears to have failed in finding acceptability among all the sections of party men. Many former MLAs have stayed away from most of the meetings Lallu has convened so far. UPCC needs a leader who can lead the organisation in the polls,” said another Congress leader.
Will the Congress go for a change in leadership ahead of polls? “The Congress leadership has to take a call on the issue. Lallu is seen leading the agitations. But he leads only a handful of party men. A question mark hangs on his fate in view of poor organizational infrastructure,” said another leader.
About taking all the sections of the party along, a UPCC functionary said efforts had been made to bring back old timers, including those who left or were expelled for some reason or the other. “If our leaders have any complaints with us, we are ready to speak to them,” said a party functionary.
