Gurugram: The Yadav Kalyan Sabha, an organisation representing the Ahir community, has written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, urging the party high command to prioritise the Ahir (Yadav) community and OBC representation in its state leadership.
The Sabha said that leader from the community should be chosen as the new president of the Haryana Congress.
The Congress cannot afford to ignore OBC voters at a time when the BJP has successfully consolidated its base among backward classes, particularly the Ahirs, in the Ahirwal region, the letter said.
“The Ahir community forms a decisive vote bank across Rewari, Mahendragarh, Gurugram, and adjoining districts. Leaders like Rao Tula Ram, Rao Abhay Singh, and Rao Birender Singh contributed immensely to the Congress, yet the party has not entrusted state leadership to an Ahir leader in recent times. This neglect has weakened the Congress’s presence in its traditional stronghold,” Dr Satish Yadav, patron, of the Yadav Kalyan Sabha said in the letter sent on Sunday.
Rao Nihal Singh was the last Ahir leader to lead the Hayana Congress. His tenure ended in 1972. Congress used to enjoy a strong bast in the region till 2014, when Rao Inderjit Singh switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The region roughly has over 1.2 million ahir voters, according to official estimates.
{{/usCountry}}Rao Nihal Singh was the last Ahir leader to lead the Hayana Congress. His tenure ended in 1972. Congress used to enjoy a strong bast in the region till 2014, when Rao Inderjit Singh switched to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The region roughly has over 1.2 million ahir voters, according to official estimates.
{{/usCountry}}The letter came as the Congress is preparing to pick its next chief of the state unit. Currently, Udai Bhan, who comes from the Dalit community, is leading the party in the state.
The Sabha said the Congress has “stalwarts” such as Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, Rao Dan Singh, and Rao Narendra Singh who enjoy grassroots support and have the ability to revive the party’s electoral base.
“We request you to respect the contribution of Ahir leaders and prioritise OBC representation in Haryana Congress leadership. This is essential to rebuild the party and win back the trust of the people,” the letter said.
Sandeep Yadav , President Yadav Mahasabha hisar, said “Congress has for decades overlooked Ahirwal and South Haryana and we proved our metal in last three elections. OBC has been winning card for BJP and yadav’s forma major part of it. Congress to reinstill faith and resurrect itself needs to trust its key position to our leaders who are working on ground despite being out of power for almost 11 years now. If even this time Congress fails to be Ahirwal Includive it will never be abale to gain it’s grounds back.”
Captain Ajay Yadav said they had been stressing the demand for party to focus on OBC voters. “Even before ticket allocation, We, South Haryana leaders, cried hoarse about importance of OBC voters especially Ahirs and ignoring us cost the party 10 out of 11 seats here. Ahirwal is the kingmaker and party should realise its importance in time. People have lost faith in party and switched their loyalty of decades we need it back.”