Rahul Focuses on Reviving Congress in Haryana

Rahul Gandhi leads Congress revival in Haryana by tackling factionalism and appointing new district presidents.

- NEERAJ MOHAN

Struggling for a revival in Haryana, the Congress party sees a ray of hope as senior party leader and Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi himself takes charge to rejuvenate the party with the appointment of district presidents.

During his first visit to the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) headquarters in Chandigarh after the party's defeat in the Assembly and Mayoral elections in the state, Rahul Gandhi issued a strict warning to the top party leaders in Haryana to bury their differences and work unitedly.

Gandhi signaled a significant step towards addressing the long-standing organizational inertia and internal factionalism that have plagued the party for over a decade.

Gandhi's three-hour engagement at the HPCC office with 18 party leaders was seen as a calculated effort to confront the deep-seated factionalism that has crippled the Congress in Haryana, which was attributed as the sole reason behind the party's unexpected defeat in the Assembly polls.

The first meeting included 18 senior leaders such as former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan, Sirsa MP Kumari Selja, Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Singh Surjewala, former Union Minister Birender Singh, Deepender Singh Hooda, and newly inducted Ashok Tanwar, among others.

In the nearly two-and-a-half-hour meeting, Gandhi stressed the need to nurture ideologically committed leadership across the state. He also focused on reorganizing the party, which has been functioning without district presidents for over 11 years.

Gandhi urged leaders to end factionalism, warning that internal disputes cost the party in past elections against the BJP.