Rao Narender's elevation triggers dissent in Congress

The appointment of former minister Rao Narender, an OBC leader, as the new Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president has stirred fresh political currents in Ahirwal dominated by the Yadav (Ahir) community.

His elevation is being viewed as an effort to broaden the Congress’s OBC outreach and to revive the party’s influence in Ahirwal, which mainly includes Rewari, Mahendragarh, and Gurugram districts, where the BJP won 10 out of 11 seats in the 2024 Assembly elections.

The development has also triggered internal dissent, with senior Congress leader, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav, expressing his disappointment. At the same time, the move is seen as a strategic counter to the BJP’s OBC narrative, especially after the elevation of Nayab Saini as CM.

A six-time former MLA and a prominent contender for the post of HPCC president, Yadav posted on ‘X’: “Given the Congress party's steadily declining performance in Haryana, the party needs to introspect on today's decision. Rahul Gandhi's desire was to appoint a person with a clean, unblemished, and youthful leadership as president of the Haryana Congress. However, today's decision appears to be the exact opposite. This has led to a complete decline in the morale of party workers and cadre,” he said, tagging leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, KC Venugopal and BK Hariprasad.

“I respect the decision taken by the party. However, I have conveyed my concern during a phone conversation with Hariprasad,” said Yadav, who also served as national president of the OBC department of the Congress.

Naresh Chauhan, a political observer, said appointing an OBC leader as the HPCC chief and that too from Ahirwal is a strategically move to counter the BJP’s OBC narrative. However, it would be an uphill task for Rao Narender, having lost three Assembly elections.

“Capt Ajay Yadav remains one of Ahirwal’s most influential Congress figures and his discontent could affect party prospects in the region. Moreover, the influence of Rao Inderjit Singh and the BJP’s strong presence among the local populace pose challenges for Rao Narender to reclaim Congress’ lost ground,” he said.

“In 2014, the party failed to win even a single seat across the 11 constituencies. It managed to secure two seats in 2019 and won only one in the 2024 polls,” he added.