In revival bid, Congress unveils a new-look UP unit, with old faces from BSP | Political Pulse News,The Indian Express
Once Kanshi Ram aide, Brijlal Khabri is UP Cong chief, as party aims for Dalit vote amidst BSP decline, appoints 6 regional heads; not all are convinced
Apart from the state Congress president, the party also appointed six regional presidents who will assist Khabri in organisational matters. But, for many Congress watchers, it was a surprise that most of the appointments, including Khabri, are not originally from the party. Of the names announced, only Yogesh Dixit rose through party ranks and has been vice-president (organisation). The other regional presidents on the list are Nasimuddin Siddiqui, Ajay Rai, Virendra Chaudhary, Nakul Dubey, and Anil Yadav.
Of the seven, Siddiqui, Nakul Dubey, and the new UPPCC chief were earlier with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). Party insiders and political observers claimed that the objective was to fill the vacuum created by the BSP and consolidate support among the Mayawati-led party’s traditional voters. Senior Congress leaders said the party was hoping to use the newly appointed leaders to revive its traditional SC base that it lost to the BSP over the years.
But a senior Congress leader critical of the leadership’s choices told The Indian Express, “There is not a single leader on the list who can speak his mind before the leadership. We see a repeat of what had happened when Lallu was made to resign after the election loss when it was AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra heading the campaign. We are shocked and sure that the party actually does not want to develop cadre as most in the list are non-Congress cadre leaders except Yogesh Dixit.”
Who is Brijlal Khabri?
The new UPPCC chief comes from the village of Khabri in Jalaun district and was known to be an activist since his school days when raised matters concerning SC communities in his region. He continued his political activities in Jalaun’s DAV College but failed to win any polls during his college days.
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