CHANDIGARH: The faction-ridden Haryana Congress is all set to be revamped in a time-bound manner after more than 11 years, as Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday held a meeting with senior party leaders from the state and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers.
Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, held a series of meetings with senior leaders under the party’s ‘Sangathan Srujan Abhiyan’ - a campaign aimed at internal rejuvenation.
The first meeting was with 17 senior leaders, including former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, party in-charge BK Hariprasad, Haryana Congress chief Udai Bhan, and MPs Kumari Selja, Deepender Singh Hooda, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ajay Singh Yadav and Ashok Tanwar. The meeting was aimed at gathering feedback on the party’s restructuring.
Later, Gandhi met 22 district observers to chalk out a strategy for rebuilding the party machinery in the state. Both meetings lasted for about two-and-a-half hours.
Senior Congress leaders gave suggestions on the reorganisation of the party unit and measures to strengthen the District Congress Committees (DCCs) and the overall Congress presence in Haryana.
Speaking to the media after the meetings, senior leader and former Union minister Birender Singh said the Congress had lacked an organisational structure in Haryana for the past 11 years.
“The party will get further strengthened when its full organisational structure is ready in Haryana,” he said.
When asked whether the Haryana Congress was a divided house, Singh responded, “Everyone is united.”
Another senior leader, Amit Sihag, who attended the observers’ meeting, said the Congress leadership is trying to build an energetic organisation. “Soon, you will see a strong organisation of our party in Haryana,” Sihag said, adding that the process would be completed in a time-bound manner. “Rahul came to meet everyone to express his views and hear everyone out,” he added.
The Congress, which has been out of power in Haryana for over a decade, has not had a district-level organisation in place for the past 11 years. Gandhi’s visit aims to set the restructuring process in motion.
The party has appointed observers to select District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents in Haryana. This will be followed by the selection of a new state unit chief and other key appointments in the state unit.
Earlier, Gandhi was given a warm welcome by party leaders upon his arrival at the airport.