As the Congress party is upbeat about its series of newly appointed district presidents in several states, there is dissatisfaction in the method of selection, as some believe those close to prominent leaders have been given the district chief positions in several districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha. However, there are a number of determining factors, including the efficacy in handling the position and sustaining the growth of the party at the grassroots.
This may not necessarily mean that those who have close proximity with prominent leaders in states will be effective, argues one section, which is batting for merit to be the topmost criterion for selection.
The grand old party has, over the years, built a crop of senior leaders who think that the experiment with the new system may sideline a section that has worked for the party for years in thick and thin. "There is a senior leadership that has contributed to the organisation's growth and sustained it for decades,” said a senior leader.
However, the new system is also attempting to balance out the power centres that have been created and dominated by regional satraps whose cadre base in their respective constituencies has grown, but when the organisational growth has slowed down, some of them switched to other parties along with the cadre, leaving Congress empty-handed. With new appointments, the high command will have more power over the ground cadres as well, said sources.
An AICC general secretary, on condition of anonymity, said the larger goal is to reorganise the Congress by appointing district presidents. “There have been many district presidents who may have held the position but were not very active. Also, if we take the example of Haryana, it had no district presidents for more than 10 years. The appointments are a huge step up.”
A member of Parliament, also seeking anonymity, said the party has been looking for people who are active and effective in their regions and have support on ground, including fitting into the caste equations and local sentiments. He added, “How would the party assess people’s merit if they are not given a chance?”
A political analyst said even if around 30 per cent of the district presidents perform up to the mark, most of the Congress party’s organisational worries will be resolved. “If we look at the past elections, in most places, the organisation of the grand old party had become defunct.”
To battle the internal dissatisfaction, the Congress central leadership issued new guidelines a few days ago for assessing the selection criteria of district presidents in Telangana. These included avoiding those who have familial ties with ministers or legislators and reappointing existing district presidents. This move has sent a clear message that the party intends to infuse new energy into its fatigued cadre base.
