Haryana Congress reconstituted the organization after 11 years, appointing 32 district presidents. Mostly new faces and field-active workers got a chance. Caste balance was maintained, and the Hooda camp maintained its dominance.
Haryana Congress: After a long wait, the Haryana Congress has finally reorganized its structure. After almost 11 years, the party has released a list of 32 district presidents. Significantly, this time, bypassing major and veteran leaders, hardworking and grassroots workers who are continuously active in the field have been entrusted with the responsibility of district presidents. This step is not only an attempt to infuse new energy into the organization, but it is also a message from the Congress high command that the party will now focus on those who strengthen the organization rather than just those seeking election tickets.
Long Wait and Preparations
The posts of district presidents in the Haryana Congress had been vacant for a long time. There had been ongoing discussions among workers and leaders regarding the reorganization of the organization. The party high command had appointed 22 central observers for all the districts of the state, whose job was to prepare reports on active leaders in the field.
These observers prepared panels of 6-6 names from each district. Then, these names were discussed in several rounds between the state leadership and the central leadership. Special attention was paid to caste and political balance before finalizing the list.
33 Districts, 32 Announced
Haryana has 22 administrative districts, but the Congress has created a total of 33 districts organizationally, combining rural and urban areas. This time, 32 district presidents have been announced, while the name for Panipat Rural has been kept pending for the time being. According to party sources, a consensus has not yet been reached on the name for this post.
New Faces, Old Experience
The biggest feature of the list is that although there are new faces, they are not completely inexperienced. Most are workers who have been working on the ground for the party for years, but had not yet received an organizational position.
No former Member of Parliament, Minister, or current Member of the Legislative Assembly has been given this responsibility.
Mewa Singh, former MLA from Ladwa, is the only former public representative who has been made a district president.
Important Appointments and Background
Parvinder Pari – Appointed as the district president of Ambala Cantonment. In the 2019 assembly elections, he was fielded by cutting the ticket of Chitra Sarwara, daughter of former minister Nirmal Singh.
Anirudh Chaudhary – District President of Bhiwani Rural. Grandson of former Chief Minister Bansi Lal and son of Ranbir Mahendra, former BCCI President. He contested the recent election against his own relative and current minister, Shruti Choudhary.
Vardhan Yadav – District President of Gurugram Rural. He has contested assembly elections from Badshahpur.
Mewa Singh – District President of Kurukshetra. Despite losing the election from Ladwa, he was given the responsibility due to his activeness.
Dominance of the Hooda Camp, but Balance Maintained
According to sources, 24 out of 32 district presidents are considered close to former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda. However, while maintaining balance, the Congress has also included 6 supporters of the Kumari Selja camp, 1 of the Randeep Singh Surjewala camp, and 1 of the Captain Ajay Yadav camp in the list.
Unknown and Surprising Names
There are some names in the list that are completely new to senior leaders and the media. For example, many senior party leaders were not even aware of Sanjay Chauhan, the district president of Panchkula. After the announcement, many leaders called each other to inquire about these new faces.
The Mathematics of Caste Equations
Caste equations always play an important role in Haryana politics. The Congress has paid special attention to caste balance in this list.
- Out of the 32 district presidents, only 6 are Jat leaders.
- The remaining district presidents are from other castes, including representatives from backward classes, Dalits, Gurjars, Yadavs, Punjabis, and the Muslim community.
- This strategy is being seen as an attempt to reach non-Jat voters, as the party did not achieve the expected success in this segment in recent elections.
Reasons for the Delay in the List
Rahul Gandhi, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had set a deadline of June 30 for the release of the list of district presidents. However, the list was released about one and a half months late due to caste equations, infighting among leaders, and disagreement on names in some districts.
Rahul Gandhi gives his consent to the list only after being fully satisfied with the final panel. This is the reason why the process was prolonged.
Expectations from the New District Presidents
The party high command wants the new district presidents to not only strengthen the organization but also improve the Congress's position in the 2024 assembly elections and future elections.
- More activeness in the field
- Strengthening the organization up to the booth level
- Engagement with the public on local issues
Complete List of District Presidents
- Ambala Cantt – Parvinder Pari
- Ambala City – Pawan Aggarwal
- Ambala Rural – Dushyant Chauhan
- Bhiwani Rural – Anirudh Chaudhary
- Bhiwani City – Pradeep Gulia
- Charkhi Dadri – Sushil Dhanak
- Faridabad – Baljit Kaushik
- Fatehabad – Arvind Sharma
- Gurugram Rural – Vardhan Yadav
- Gurugram Urban – Pankaj Dawar
- Hisar Rural – Lal Bahadur Khowal
- Hisar Urban – Bajrang Das Garg
- Jhajjar – Sanjay Yadav
- Jind – Rishipal
- Kaithal – Ramchandra Gurjar
- Karnal Rural – Rajesh Vaidya
- Karnal Urban – Parag Gaba
- Kurukshetra – Mewa Singh
- Mahendragarh – Satyaveer Yadav
- Nuh (Mewat) – Shahid Khan
- Palwal – Netrapal Adhana
- Panchkula – Sanjay Chauhan
- Panipat Rural – (Name Pending)
- Rewari – Subhash Chandra Chawri
- Rewari Urban – Praveen Chaudhary
- Rohtak Rural – Balwan Singh Ranga
- Rohtak Urban – Kuldeep Singh
- Sirsa – Santosh Beniwal
- Sonipat Rural – Sanjeev Kumar Dahiya
- Sonipat Urban – Kamal Diwan
- Yamunanagar Rural – Narpal Singh
- Yamunanagar Urban – Devender Singh
