Regarding the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2027, Congress has now started preparations to bring the organization completely into election mode. After the important meeting held in Delhi, the stir in the State Congress regarding the new executive has intensified and the discussion about State President Ajay Rai getting a new team has increased the political temperature. The official announcement of Ajay Rai being made the state president again has not been made yet, but there are definitely indications of a new team being formed under his leadership in the organization.
In the meeting held in Delhi, Congress National President Mallikarjun Kharge and Organization General Secretary KC Venugopal along with UP in-charges, State Presidents, MP-MLAs, former ministers, former MPs, former MLAs and district in-charges discussed preparing the organization for the elections. Emphasis was also laid on better coordination with effective leaders and workers in every assembly seat.
Team stuck for 3 years, preparation for new executive
The biggest challenge before Congress is regarding the state executive. After Ajay Rai became the state president, discussions regarding the new team have been going on for a long time. Now, after the appointment of six new co-in-charges, the possibility of formation of a new state executive has strengthened. It is believed in party sources and political circles that special importance will be given to caste and regional balance in the new team.
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Recently, Congress has made a major reshuffle in the organization of UP and made six new national secretaries co-in-charge. Abhishek Dutt, Kunal Chaudhary, Jagdish Chander Jangid, Sanjeev Arya, Varun Chaudhary and Abdul Hannan have been given the responsibility of UP. All of them will work with UP in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam.
New team in place of 'Team Priyanka'
Congress has put forward a new face by removing six co-in-charges who were holding the responsibility in UP for a long time. A new team has been brought in place of Dheeraj Gurjar, Nilanshu Chaturvedi, Pradeep Narwal, Rajesh Tiwari, Satyanarayan Patel and Tauqeer Alam. These leaders were active in the UP organization since 2019 and were considered part of Priyanka Gandhi's team when she was in-charge of UP. An effort is visible to create a balance of ethnic and regional representation in the new team. In political analysis, it is being considered as an exercise to prepare the organization afresh for Congress' Mission-2027.
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What kind of faces are at stake in the new executive?
The names of the new executive have not been officially announced yet, so it is too early to consider any person's name as final. But looking at the current organizational strategy of the party, an attempt can be made to strike a balance between Dalit, backward, minority and upper caste classes along with giving representation to effective leaders from Western UP, Purvanchal, Awadh and Bundelkhand.
Leaders from different social and regional backgrounds have also been given place in the new co-in-charge team of Congress. This is indicating that even in the new executive, along with caste equation, leaders active on the ground may get priority.
Mission-2027: First organization, then electoral field
The 2027 elections are also important for the Congress because in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the party had performed better in UP than before in alliance with the Samajwadi Party. Now Congress is trying to take that performance forward in the assembly elections. The party's strategy is to activate the organization up to the booth level and prepare strong faces in every assembly constituency. Ajay Rai had said in June that Congress is making preparations for all 403 assembly seats. However, the final decision on whether there will be an alliance with the Samajwadi Party and how the seats will be distributed has to be taken by the central leadership of the Congress.
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What will change with Rahul Gandhi's new team?
The formation of the new co-in-charge team is being considered an important change in the UP strategy of Congress. The party has removed the old team that has been working for a long time and has given responsibility to new faces. Now this team can play a role in activating the organization in different zones and forming a new executive. Now the next big step for Congress in UP is the new state executive.
The central leadership will decide whether Ajay Rai gets a new team or there is a change in the leadership. But the Delhi meeting, the appointment of six new co-in-charges and the emphasis on ethnic-regional balance make it clear that Congress has now started putting the organization in election mode for 2027.