At Haryana Congress revamp meet, Rahul Gandhi warns against factionalism, favouritism

In a significant move to revamp the Congress’ organisational structure in Haryana, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi held extensive discussions with senior leaders under the party’s “Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan”, a campaign aimed at internal rejuvenation.

During his over three-hour visit to the party office at Sector 9 in the city, Rahul engaged with senior leaders and AICC and PCC observers to gather feedback on the upcoming elections for 22 District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents, a vital link between the party leadership and grassroots workers.

Acknowledging that internal factionalism has stalled organisational restructuring for over 11 years, Rahul delivered a strong message urging party leaders to set aside differences, sources said, adding that he warned that strict action would be taken against any senior leader found indulging in favouritism during the DCC election process, stressing that selections must be based purely on merit from grass-roots level workers.

Rahul also underscored the importance of unity and internal discipline, urging leaders to refrain from airing grievances publicly. He later interacted with 22 AICC observers and 90 PCC observers to discuss strategies for the DCC elections and broader efforts to strengthen the party in Haryana.

Prominent Congress leaders, including general secretary KC Venugopal, Haryana unit chief Udai Bhan, state affairs in-charge BK Hariprasad, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Birender Singh, Kumari Selja, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Deepender Singh Hooda and others participated in the meeting. Former MP Ashok Tanwar, who recently re-joined the party ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, was specially invited.

Later briefing the media, Hariprasad announced that a six-member panel of eligible candidates aged 35–55 would be prepared for each DCC president post, with the election process expected to conclude by June 30. He reiterated that merit would be the sole criterion, with adequate representation for SCs, OBCs and women.

Responding to a query on the appointment of the Leader of Opposition in Haryana, Hariprasad clarified that the day’s discussions were focused exclusively on organisational matters, particularly the DCC elections. Notably, 37 Congress MLAs were not officially invited to the meetings, despite their interest in meeting the LoP.

Reinforcing Rahul’s message, Hariprasad said, “Factionalism and favouritism will not be tolerated during the DCC poll process. Strict action will be taken against any leader found engaging in such practices.”