In the first major sign of the acute churning within the Congress, a delegation of angry party leaders from Bihar on Wednesday met Sonia Gandhi to demand the removal of state unit chief Ashok Chaudhary. The delegation, which included 26 out of 39 district presidents of the party's Bihar branch, is now awaiting a meeting with Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday to press for their demand.
If the party leadership does not sack Chaudhary in a week, the delegation has threatened to stage a dharna at the party headquarters at Delhi's 24 Akbar Road, the Darbhanga district president of the Congress Jahangir Alam told Scroll.in.
The anger of the Bihar unit is not exceptional. A senior Congress leader admitted that party workers across the country are outraged that the central command has done little to shake up the structure after the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in May.
Breaking their silence
According to party insiders, while the Bihar leaders have broken their silence, the rumblings of discontent can be heard in other states, too. In West Bengal unit of the party, for instance, anger is rife against the incumbent Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Adhir Chaudhary, while the Uttar Pradesh unit of the party appears completely paralysed.
The situation is no better in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Assam. “Even the states, where the rumblings are not so audible, a resurgent leadership is needed to stem the growing discord within the party,” said the Congress leader.
After the party’s crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, top Congress leaders tried to delay the rebuilding exercise by arguing that it would be started after Wednesday's crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The fact that the Bihar leaders met with Sonia Gandhi while the polling was underway in the two states signifies that the party’s grassroots workers have grown so impatient that they want the much-promised shakeup without any further delay.
Insiders say the rumbling from within has started showing its effect on the leadership. The demand for drastic change in the party has created uncertainty even for leaders having who are well entrenched in the Congress.
Post-poll bickering
It is in this light that the insiders have begun to view the post-Lok Sabha poll bickering between the senior party leaders and the aides of Rahul Gandhi. Even the recent remarks of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan are being seen as a reflection of the desperation emanating due to the constant demands for major organisational shake-up.
Chavan said in an interview to The Telegraph just on the eve of the state elections that had he taken action against Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan, the Congress leaders accused in Adarsh real-estate scam, “the party would have been decimated in Maharashtra”.
On the day the polling took place in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Congress appeared shkaen, with the demand that it rebuild itself reaching Delhi from the grassroots.
If the party leadership does not sack Chaudhary in a week, the delegation has threatened to stage a dharna at the party headquarters at Delhi's 24 Akbar Road, the Darbhanga district president of the Congress Jahangir Alam told Scroll.in.
The anger of the Bihar unit is not exceptional. A senior Congress leader admitted that party workers across the country are outraged that the central command has done little to shake up the structure after the humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in May.
Breaking their silence
According to party insiders, while the Bihar leaders have broken their silence, the rumblings of discontent can be heard in other states, too. In West Bengal unit of the party, for instance, anger is rife against the incumbent Pradesh Congress Committee chief, Adhir Chaudhary, while the Uttar Pradesh unit of the party appears completely paralysed.
The situation is no better in Maharashtra, Haryana, Punjab and Assam. “Even the states, where the rumblings are not so audible, a resurgent leadership is needed to stem the growing discord within the party,” said the Congress leader.
After the party’s crushing defeat in the Lok Sabha elections, top Congress leaders tried to delay the rebuilding exercise by arguing that it would be started after Wednesday's crucial assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana. The fact that the Bihar leaders met with Sonia Gandhi while the polling was underway in the two states signifies that the party’s grassroots workers have grown so impatient that they want the much-promised shakeup without any further delay.
Insiders say the rumbling from within has started showing its effect on the leadership. The demand for drastic change in the party has created uncertainty even for leaders having who are well entrenched in the Congress.
Post-poll bickering
It is in this light that the insiders have begun to view the post-Lok Sabha poll bickering between the senior party leaders and the aides of Rahul Gandhi. Even the recent remarks of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan are being seen as a reflection of the desperation emanating due to the constant demands for major organisational shake-up.
Chavan said in an interview to The Telegraph just on the eve of the state elections that had he taken action against Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sushilkumar Shinde and Ashok Chavan, the Congress leaders accused in Adarsh real-estate scam, “the party would have been decimated in Maharashtra”.
On the day the polling took place in Maharashtra and Haryana, the Congress appeared shkaen, with the demand that it rebuild itself reaching Delhi from the grassroots.
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