Cong begins exercise to appoint Gurugram dist chief

Two weeks after Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi started the process to appoint party’s district presidents in Haryana, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers reached Gurugram for consultation process.

The exercise, which is being undertaken after a gap of around 11 years, saw AICC key observer Rajya Sabha MP GC Chandrashekhar and PCC observer former Congress MLA Ramniwas Ghorela address the district chief aspirants.

They exhorted the aspirants to take forward Rahul’s vision of a united strong Congress that would become voice of the people.

“The party needs to get up and get hold of things. We need people who are connected with people, know issues and are ready to fight for voters. We want the restructuring to instill new hope in workers and voters,” said Ghorela.

According to sources, the party has received around 50 applications for the post of district chief. Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior party official said majority of the applicants did not fit the age criteria spelled out by Rahul. The Congress has fixed age bracket for district president between 35 to 55 years.

“It’s been 11 years and many influential local leaders have crossed the age. They have been allowed to apply but party high command seems strict about the age bracket,” said a senior leader and former MLA from the city.

Despite high hopes, the Congress faced defeat thrice in Gurugram. Thus, the party wants to focus on balancing caste equations in the city.

The Punjabi voters who form the biggest chunk gave strong hope in the 2024 General Election by voting for Raj Babbar but shifted to BJP in the Vidhan Sabha poll.

As a result, senior leader Pankaj Dawar, who was denied the ticket in Vidhan Sabha elections, is being speculated as a strong contender.

Dawar has been actively raising civic issues to catch the attention of party high command. Other key contenders include Jitender Kumar Bhardwaj and Pradeep Singh Zaildar.

The party was also looking at keeping the Ahir and Brahmin voters happy, who made their presence felt in the Assembly poll. It’s for the first time that party has sought caste details of aspirants going beyond the category like General and OBC.

Haryana Tribune