Ahead of the 2027 UP Assembly Elections, the Congress has made a major organizational reshuffle. Focusing on the Dalit and OBC vote bank, it is preparing to strengthen its hold within the “INDIA” alliance.
Uttar Pradesh: Just before the Assembly elections, the Congress has begun laying out its strategic and organizational foundation in the state. The party’s entire focus is now on building a strong Dalit and OBC social alliance. The Congress is confident that this formula will not only regain lost ground in the state but also significantly strengthen its negotiating power within the opposition “INDIA” alliance.
In a major move, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Friday removed Avinash Pandey from the post of General Secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh. In his place, Rajendra Pal Gautam, National President of the Scheduled Castes Department and a prominent Dalit leader, has been given this important responsibility. Just a day before this announcement, Gautam was in Lucknow, where he, along with Anil Jaihind, in-charge of the AICC’s OBC wing, celebrated Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj’s birth anniversary as ‘Reservation Day.’
According to senior Congress sources, Rajendra Pal Gautam’s appointment is not being seen as a simple organizational change. The party is aiming to send a major political message to Dalit voters ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Congress also wants to establish that its ally, the Samajwadi Party (SP), is not the only option for Dalits in their fight for rights, but that the party is also a strong platform for them.
According to reports from within the party, this organizational reshuffle in Uttar Pradesh will not be limited to the change of in-charges. Ahead of the elections, major changes have already been scripted for the state’s co-in-charges (secretaries) and state leadership. There is talk that the next president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPPCC) could be appointed to a prominent OBC leader, ensuring the party’s Dalit-OBC social engineering strategy is fully implemented.
A senior Congress leader explained this strategy, stating that the party fought the 2024 Lok Sabha elections strongly on issues of social justice and protection of the Constitution, yielding positive results. If the Congress wants to carry this discourse into the 2027 assembly elections, it must demonstrate this social commitment within its organizational structure.
Currently, the Uttar Pradesh Congress is headed by Ajay Rai, a prominent Bhumihar leader from eastern Uttar Pradesh. He was appointed state president in August 2023, replacing Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri. Rai had contested the previous two Lok Sabha elections against Prime Minister Narendra Modi from the Varanasi constituency, which was crucial for the party’s electoral strategy at the time. In the 2024 elections, he also succeeded in significantly reducing PM Modi’s victory margin.
However, Congress strategists believe that the political demands of Lok Sabha and Assembly elections are completely different. The perception within the party has grown increasingly strong that the campaign to protect the Constitution and reservations in the last Lok Sabha elections led a significant portion of Dalit voters to the “India” alliance. Retaining this vote bank in the upcoming electoral battle is crucial for the party’s future.
While Samajwadi Party leaders are publicly downplaying this Congress assessment, Congress leaders argue that this support from Dalits and backward classes will put them in a strong position during seat-sharing negotiations for the upcoming Assembly elections. It’s clear that Congress’s entire restructuring plan has been designed with the 2027 election battle in mind.
Rajan Chaudhary
Courtesy: Hindi News