Congress Appoints District Chiefs in Haryana After 11 Years

After an 11-year gap, the Congress party has finally named district presidents for Haryana, announcing a list of 32 leaders to lead different districts. To improve grassroots organization, several districts have been assigned distinct chief executives for both rural and urban regions.

With 25 out of 32 positions going to his supporters, former Chief Minister Bhupinder Hooda's loyalists heavily influence the appointments. This demonstrates Hooda's enduring power within the state party system in spite of internal opposition from other leaders.

Key Leaders and Their Influence

Sirsa MP and former minister Kumari Selja has managed to place her supporters in several important positions. Her loyalists include Santosh Beniwal in Sirsa, Parvinder Pari in Ambala Cantonment, Pawan Aggarwal in Ambala City, Brij Lal Khoval in Hisar rural, and Baljeet Kaushik in Faridabad.

All India Congress Committee General Secretary KC Venugopal released the list and explained the selection process. "These appointments are made as part of the Sanghathan Srijan Ahiyan. AICC observers assigned to each district conducted detailed reviews, engaged with party functionaries and stakeholders, and submitted comprehensive reports," he said. 

Demographic Breakdown of Appointments

The caste composition of the newly appointed district chiefs reflects Haryana's social demographics:

Selection Process and Consultations

Both Venugopal and state in-charge BK Hariprasad held detailed consultations with senior leaders including Bhupinder Hooda, his son Deepender Hooda, Kumari Selja, State Congress president Udai Bhan, and Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala before finalizing the names.

Party observers had initially submitted six names for each district position. In a July 30 meeting, the leadership narrowed down the list to one or two candidates per district before making final decisions.

Gender Representation Concerns

The most striking aspect of the appointments is the poor women representation. Only one woman, Santosh Beniwal, has been appointed as district president for Sirsa. This continues Congress's trend of minimal female leadership at organizational levels, despite the party's past commitments to women's political participation.

A senior party leader anonymously commented, "It appears that just like tickets, the senior leaders of Haryana Congress had distributed posts of district party presidents amongst themselves too." 

The absence of grassroots organization was cited as one of the key reasons for Congress losing its third consecutive state Assembly election in 2024, along with internal fights between pro-Hooda and anti-Hooda factions.

"If district presidents were to be appointed on the choice of top leaders, why was there an 11-year wait?" questioned another senior party leader, highlighting the delayed organizational restructuring.