Consultations to appoint district chiefs begin as Cong. plans revival drive in Haryana

AICC and PCC observers consult for district president appointments in Haryana, focusing on fair selection process.

GURUGRAM

Almost a week after the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi started the process to appoint party’s district presidents in Haryana, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers on Tuesday began the consultation process in around half-a-dozen districts to put the organisation in place at the district level after a gap of eleven years.

While the party is yet to commence the process in the majority of the 22 districts, the observers for Charkhi Dadri, comprising Assembly constituencies of Dadri and Badhra, on Tuesday wrapped up the process after three-day extensive consultation with senior party leaders, workers and social activists in the district.

“We spoke to the interested candidates in detail about their contributions to the party and the society and the positions, if any, held by them. Following this, we held discussion with the prominent social activists in the district, as they are expected to be unbiased, and sought their feedback on the candidates. We also spoke to the eight former MLAs from the district,” PCC observer Lal Bahadur Khowal told The Hindu.

One of the three PCC observers, Lal Bahadur Khowal, said the committee collected the application forms and would recommend a minimum of three or a maximum of six names to the high command. Anyone between 35 and 55 years of age and having been an active member of the party for the past five years can apply for the post.

One of the candidates, Raju Maan, national convener of All India Kisan Congress, said the announcement by Mr. Gandhi to reinstate the organisation at the district level was a “welcome” step and had filled the grassroots workers with new energy. “The workers were waiting for the organisation to be put in place for long. The party’s focus on the young leadership and a fair selection process is commendable. The fact that district presidents would also have a say in shortlisting candidates for the elections has made this post all the more important,” said the 53-year-old.

Besides the basic details, the two-page application form seeks details about the candidate as whether they ran any educational and medical institute, had ever been the member of any other party and details of their political and social activities.