Accept collective leadership: Rahul to Hry Cong leaders
New Delhi: After a debacle in the Assembly elections held recently in five states, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday reportedly asked party leaders of Haryana to accept a 'collective responsibility' and contest the 2024 Assembly elections under a 'collective leadership'.
Gandhi's instruction to Haryana Congress leaders came during a meeting which lasted for three hours.
The meeting was held in New Delhi on Friday to avoid a Punjab-like situation in the neighbouring state.
Congress is the main Opposition in Haryana's 90-member House with 31 MLAs. Unlike in Punjab, where various factions within the party posed as a factor for the party's poor performance, Congress is attempting to put up a united face in Haryana.
Among those who attended the meeting were AICC in charge of Haryana Vivek Bansal, former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala, Kuldeep Bishnoi, Kiran Chaudhary, Rajya Sabha MP Deepinder Singh Hooda and Captain Ajay Singh Yadav.
After the meeting, Hooda said, "In the meeting, everybody has been asked to remain united and fight the next elections whole-heartedly and as a united force. Everybody who participated in the meeting put forth their viewpoints that were heard and discussed. There can be differences of opinions among the party leaders but there are no differences in the hearts. We all shall remain united and contest the next elections."
"In wake of the current political scenario, had called this meeting of the party's Haryana unit's top leadership. Everybody kept their viewpoints. Eventually, it was decided that the party's entire leadership should go all out, collectively, against the BJP and raise the voice of the people of the state inside and outside the Vidhan Sabha. It was also discussed that the party should highlight and expose the failures of the BJP in the state with full strength," said Vivek Bansal, Congress' party affairs in-charge in Haryana.
HPCC chief Kumari Selja said, "Rahul ji asked everybody to speak frankly. Everybody shared their concerns and discussions were held about the political scenario, not only in Haryana but even in the other states. My concern was basically the organisation, which I put forth. Several others spoke about the party's recent performance in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and even at the national level. So, Rahul ji heard everybody and basically said everybody will have to put their act together and step out on the roads, reach out to the public. He also told everybody to remain united to avoid what happened in Punjab."
