Post-Debacle Strategy: Congress may pick Dalit or OBC leader to head its UP unit

The Congress won only two seats and its voteshare dropped to just 2.3 per cent.

Sources in the Congress said that though Lallu, an OBC leader, did work on the ground to revive the party, he has been accused of alienating the Brahmins and Thakurs.

“While Lallu was no doubt a hard worker but he was not a team leader and a large section of upper caste leaders felt that they were neglected purposely… While the party felt alienated by upper castes — both Brahmins and Thakurs alike — yet when it comes to picking the state president, the priority as of now is to go for an OBC face,” said a senior Congress leader.

Some within the party feel that Virendra Chaudhary, one of the two MLAs in the Assembly of 403 legislators, could be rewarded with the post, considering that he is an OBC leader, currently the vice-president of the party’s UP unit.

Chaudhary, who has so far contested Assembly election five times – three times on a BSP ticket and two as Congress leader, finally managed to win this time by defeating three-term BJP MLA Bajrang Bahadur in Pharendra Assembly constituency by a margin of about 2,000 votes.

Also, he hails from Purvanchal region, just like Lallu. The party leadership, sources said, also feels that if the party’s fortune could be revived, it can be from Purvanchal. Even Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was first made the in-charge of eastern Uttar Pradesh, before taking over as AICC in-charge of the entire state.

Another reason for the party mulling choosing a Dalit or OBC face is the reason that its other MLA, Aradhna Mishra, is a Brahmin leader.