Congress launches grassroots overhaul in Haryana after twelve years without local bodies

Overhaul Plan

The Congress is rebuilding its grassroots party structure in Haryana after nearly twelve years without a full-fledged booth-level organisation in the state. During this long gap, the party contested three Lok Sabha and Assembly elections unsuccessfully. The new AICC in-charge of Haryana, Sanjay Dutt, is driving the current revamp exercise to prepare for the 2029 electoral battles. Under the plan, the party aims to build a layered organisation involving booths, mandals, blocks, and districts.

Rebuilding Steps

The party began reconstituting its district-level organisation months ago under the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan, and announced 103 block presidents across 19 districts on June 17. Sanjay Dutt took charge on June 26, replacing B K Hariprasad. Dutt later met Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi in July to discuss plans. The party plans to form a mandal for every 20 booths. Upcoming steps include block-level conventions in September, district-level conventions in October, and worker-training programmes in November.

Training and Strategy

The training aims to create master trainers who will educate lower-level workers on political issues like unemployment, farmers' concerns, inflation, and law and order. The party is also using the Election Commission's Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, deploying 19,280 Congress-appointed Booth Level Agents to monitor voter lists and flag discrepancies.

Challenges and Vote Share

The Congress faces internal factionalism among senior leaders, which has historically complicated state unit efforts. However, leaders hope to bridge the gap with the BJP's established booth structure. In the 2024 Assembly elections, the BJP polled 39.94 percent of the vote while the Congress polled 39.09 percent, resulting in a narrow difference of 0.85 percentage points, though the BJP won 48 seats compared to the Congress's 37. Recent party events have seen participation from senior leaders including Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kumari Selja, Randeep Singh Surjewala, and Deepender Singh Hooda.