‘Party structure has collapsed, needs revamp’: Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad

Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said on November 22 that the party’s structure has collapsed and there is a need for it to be rebuilt.

"Our party's structure has collapsed. We need to rebuild our structure and then if any leader is elected in that structure, it will work. But saying that just by changing the leader, we will win Bihar, UP (Uttar Pradesh), MP (Madhya Pradesh), etc. is wrong. That will happen once we change the system," Azad told news agency ANI during an interview.

Calling for an overhaul in the party’s organisational structure, Azad also said that there is disconnect between people and Congress leaders and that a "five-star culture" has crept in.

"There is a huge disconnect between the people and Congress leaders at the district, block and state levels. The party's connect with the public should be a continuous process and not only during elections," he told news agency PTI.

“There is an urgent need to overhaul the party structure by conducting elections from block to district and state level,” Azad said, adding that Congress leaders at all levels should shed five-star culture at least during elections.

The Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, who has held several key positions in the Congress, said "Congress leaders should give up this five star culture. At least during elections, they should avoid five-stars and stay in the field".

Azad’s remarks come after Congress' poor performance in the recent Bihar Legislative Assembly elections, in which the party managed to win just 19 out of the 70 seats it contested.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led 'Mahagathbandhan' -- of which the Congress was a part of -- secured 110 seats in the 243-member assembly. The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) comprising the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Janata Dal (United) and other smaller parties, retained power in what turned out to be a close contest. The NDA won 125 seats.

Speaking for the first time after the party's poor performance in the Bihar polls, Azad also said that leaders should tour a state along with state leaders and not just stay in five-star hotels and return.

"Each leader must have knowledge of each assembly constituency. Merely going from Delhi and staying in five-star hotels and returning after two to three days to Delhi is nothing but a waste of money," he said.

Holding this as one of the main reasons for the party's defeat in Bihar, the former union minister called for elections for all positions in Congress’ state, district and block units.

"We should have elected PCCs (Pradesh Congress Committees), DCCs (District Congress Committees) and BCCs (Block Congress Committees), and a programme for the party in this regard is a must," he said.

However, Azad did not blame the top leadership of the party for the poll debacle, but the disconnect between leaders and people. He did not elaborate further on the Bihar loss.

Azad, who was the senior-most among the 23 letter writers demanding an organisational overhaul in the Congress, said they are raising issues as "reformists and not rebels".

"We are reformists not rebels. We are not against the leadership. Rather, we are strengthening the hands of the leadership by proposing reforms," he said.

He was among the 23 leaders who wrote to Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi in August demanding elections to key posts and comprehensive party restructuring.

There have been demands for restructuring from various quarters, including from former union minister Kapil Sibal, in the wake of the party's electoral decline.

Azad was among four letter-writers whom Sonia Gandhi included in three internal committees she constituted to articulate the party's stand on economic affairs, foreign affairs and national security.

In an interview with newspaper Dainik Bhaskar recently, former union minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram had also said that the Congress might have contested more seats in Bihar than it should have. Chidambaram’s remarks came when tensions within the party were already simmering over senior leader Kapil Sibal's open criticism.