LUCKNOW: With the UP Assembly polls approaching, the political landscape of the state is abuzz as the political players are sprucing up their preparedness.
Close on the heels of the ruling BJP having announced its new team of state organisation office-bearers, Congress sprung a surprise by replacing UP in-charge Avinash Pandey with the party’s SC cell chief Rajendra Pal Gautam.
Gautam has been entrusted with the crucial role just weeks after his futile bid to meet BSP chief Mayawati at her residence along with the party’s Barabanki MP Tanuj Punia and a few other leaders.
Sources claimed that the party may soon do away with UPCC chief Ajay Rai as well.
Keeping in mind the 2027 assembly elections, Congress may hand over the reins of UP to an OBC (Other Backwards Class) or a Muslim face.
Congress central command appointed Gautam as the All-India Congress Committee in-charge for UP, with party general secretary KC Venugopal issuing a formal order on Friday.
Gautam replaced Avinash Pandey, who donned the role in December 2023.
As per the political experts, Gautam’s appointment is more of an attempt by the Congress party to sharpen its outreach among Dalits and other socially disadvantaged communities in the state before going to the assembly elections.
A lawyer by profession, Gautam had switched over to the Congress in 2024 from the Aam Aadmi Party, which he joined in 2014.
However, before that, he had made his mark as an Ambedkarite activist.
He was elected twice from Delhi's Seemapuri assembly constituency and served as a cabinet minister in the Arvind Kejriwal government, holding portfolios including Social Welfare, SC/ST Welfare, Women and Child Development and Cooperative Affairs.
In 2022, he resigned from the Delhi cabinet following a controversy over his participation in a Buddhist conversion event.
After quitting the AAP in September 2024, Gautam joined the Congress and was appointed chairman of the AICC's Scheduled Caste Department in 2025, reflecting the party leadership's emphasis on social justice and Dalit outreach.
Though known within the community, he became a known name in UP’s political canvas in May when he knocked on the door of BSP president Mayawati's residence located at a stone's throw distance from the UP-Congress Party’s office
However, Mayawati refused to give audience to him and those accompanying him, leaving them in the red. Then a show-cause notice was issued to him.
Thereafter, Gautam, in a bid to show his clout, picked up Dalit and Pasi leaders, academia and persons significant in the community to Delhi to meet Rahul Gandhi.
His elevation as Uttar Pradesh in-charge now places him at the centre of the Congress's efforts to consolidate the non-Jatav Dalits who are crucial to the electoral caste matrix.
However, a few old timers aren’t too pleased with Gautam’s elevation, calling it too fast. Stating that ‘Gautam’s audacity has paid him off well,’ party workers said that ‘the entire spectacle now appears to be a scripted venture to position him in UP before the 2027 state elections’.
Meanwhile, interacting with media persons after his appointment, Gautam extended his gratitude to Congress leadership for reposing faith in him.
“I will work with complete dedication with people from all walks of life to strengthen the organisation in Uttar Pradesh," he said.
Outlining his priorities, Gautam said the Congress would work to bring together "people from all walks of life who have suffered under the BJP governments".
According to sources, Congress MPs from UP had met the high command in Delhi recently, demanding the appointment of either Imran Masood, the Saharanpur MP or Rakesh Rathore, the Sitapur MP, as the party’s UP chief.
Imran Masood is an MP from the Saharanpur seat in Western UP. He is a prominent Muslim leader. He shot to the limelight after giving a call to cut PM Modi in pieces during the 2014 Lok Sabha poll campaign when the latter was announced as the BJP’s PM candidate.
By making him president, the party wants to keep the Muslim vote bank completely on its side.
Meanwhile, Rakesh Rathore is an MP from Sitapur. He is a prominent leader from the OBC category. By giving him responsibility, Rahul Gandhi's 'backward politics' and the narrative of the caste census can be strengthened on the ground.
The present UPCC chief, Ajay Rai, was appointed President of UP Congress on August 17, 2023, replacing Brijlal Khabri.
His three-year tenure will be completed in the upcoming August. Ajay Rai is considered a very active leader. He gave a tough fight to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Varanasi in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, which significantly increased his political stature.
Ajay Rai comes from the Bhumihar community. Also, the Bhumihar vote bank is considered to be the BJP’s vote bank.
In such a situation, to balance the caste equations for the 2027 assembly elections, the command of UP Congress can be handed over to a minority or OBC face.