Churn in Gujarat Cong as DCC picks kindle revival hopes, sharpen divides

Indian Express

11 hours ago

The Congress party's pilot exercise to empower the District Congress Committees (DCCs) in Gujarat has drawn some criticism, but several leaders are also hopeful that the increased representation to marginalised communities, including Dalits, tribals, and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), will give the state unit impetus to regain the ground it lost over the last three decades of the BJP's dominance.
After a process that lasted more than two months, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on June 22 appointed 40 DCC chiefs as part of its 'Sangathan Srijan' programme – the brainchild of Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Rahul Gandhi – to strengthen the party even at the grassroots level.
At the April 9-10 AICC session in Gujarat, held in the state for the first time in almost 60 years, district units were identified as key building blocks in the party's proposed organisational overhaul. While this is a nationwide project, the Congress launched the pilot from Gujarat, where the party has been out of power for 30 years.
The Indian Express spoke to several Congress leaders in Gujarat – AICC and Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers who oversaw the selection of the DCC chiefs – and learnt that while there were some complaints of 'favouritism' and that of 'overlooking women and Muslims', several state party leaders are hopeful that the organisational revamp would give the party a boost.
In the list of 40 DCC presidents, only one woman – Sonal Patel (Ahmedabad City) – made the cut after the appointment process saw senior Congress leaders visiting 26 Lok Sabha constituencies, 182 Assembly segments, and 235 blocks.
Patel, 64, was quick to express her unhappiness over being the only woman in the list.
'I was expecting at least three to four women district chiefs,' she told The Indian Express. 'During the March 8 convention (held a month ahead of the AICC session), I told Rahul Gandhi that you do only lip service. He assured me that women would be given representation, but I think they would not appoint one just for the sake of it.'
Some Congress leaders have, however, defended the appointments, saying that more women will be given chances in the future, and that Sonal's appointment is significant given the importance of Ahmedabad city.
Some AICC observers said that they struggled to find 'deserving candidates'. 'The applications were quite underwhelming and not too many women applied for the posts,' an observer told The Indian Express.
The Congress also faced a row over the lack of Muslim representation among the new DCC chiefs. As the issue began heating up, the AICC on June 23 appointed Salim A Amdavadi as the president of its Bharuch city unit, which has a sizeable Muslim population.
While several Muslim leaders in the Congress complained about the lack of leadership roles for them, some others said it was done after a section of the community leaders appealed to the party high command to not give too many posts to Muslims as it 'could result in polarisation'.
A Muslim Congress leader, on condition of anonymity, said: 'How can the party not appoint a single Muslim when the state has a 10% Muslim population? There are at least five districts where Muslims are more than 20%.'
Gujarat PCC secretary Iliyas Qureshi defended the decision to leave out Muslims, saying it was done on the suggestion of the party's own leaders from the community. 'Gujarat is a place where polarisation can help the BJP. Too many Muslims in the list would have meant that. And we didn't want it to benefit the BJP,' Qureshi told The Indian Express.
While Muslims may feel left out, some other marginalised communities were given representation in the DCC list.
A total of 14 OBC leaders made the cut, while tribal and Dalit leaders got seven and four posts respectively.
Among the communities in the general category, Patidars were given charge of eight districts, while Kshatriyas were given five and Brahmins two.
Congress MP from Jharkhand's Lohardaga, Sukhdeo Bhagat, a tribal leader who was among the AICC observers in Gujarat, told The Indian Express: 'Through the Sangathan Srijan programme, Rahul Gandhi has adopted a democratic process to appoint DCCs in Gujarat from within the party workers. There will be scope for improvement and we are undertaking a similar exercise in Madhya Pradesh and Haryana too.'
Speaking to The Indian Express, senior Congress leader from Gujarat and Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Lalji Desai said the appointments have 'changed the power structure' in the party. 'I wouldn't say that this process was 100% successful because that is not possible. But it has shifted the power from the top to the bottom, meaning that anyone who aspires to become a DCC president will now have to go to party workers and ask them to make him or her the chief,' Desai said.
Gujarat Congress media co-ordinator Manish Doshi said the appointments 'are a first step towards big change'. 'The initiative has changed our state's set up for the party. Now, the party unit needs to work together as team Congress,' Doshi said.
The party giving representation to OBCs, Dalits and tribals also gains significance as Rahul Gandhi has made it part of his campaign that his fight is for 'sharing of power' and not just 'representation'.
Some Gujarat leaders say that despite the exhaustive appointment process, the list is 'not as fresh as it could have been'. The leader pointed out that at least 13 DCC presidents were repeated, and at least 10 are former MLAs and that one appointee is a former MP.
'How is this fresh leadership if 13 are repeated and 11 are former legislators?' asked a Congress leader.
The age factor is also an issue. While the intention of the pilot project was to appoint 'young and energetic' leaders, at least eight in the list are aged above 60.
The rest are aged 30 to 50 years.