A street fighter is Priyanka’s choice to head UPCC

When Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, AICC general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, reconstituted the UP Congress Committee (UPCC), pro-government news agencies, not surprisingly, were quick to report that appointment of Ajay Kumar Lallu as UPCC president had upset senior Congress leaders and old-timers.

The last three UPCC presidents were Raj Babbar, Dr Nirmal Khatri and Rita Bahuguna Joshi. Four UPCC presidents before Joshi were Salman Khurshid, Jagdambika Pal, Arun Kumar Singh Munna and Shreeprakash Jaiswal. Significantly, Ajay Kumar Lallu will be the ninth UPCC president in the last 19 years. How long he lasts seems a legitimate question to ask.

But the two-term MLA is known for his stubborn streak and has a reputation for being a street fighter. On July 19 this year, when Priyanka Gandhi was stopped by police from proceeding to Sonebhadra and meet family members of those who were killed in Umbha village, Lallu suggested they sit on a dharna. The dharna hogged headlines and following a two-day standoff, the government was forced to arrange a meeting between Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and family members of the victims.

“We will not budge till the government allows Priyankaji to meet family members of the victims,” was the war cry of Ajay Lallu. “She is detained in Chunar while we are staging dharna,” he told the media.

The two-term MLA from Tamkuhi Raj Assembly constituency in Kushinagar was then Leader of the Congress Legislature Party and was already known for staging dharnas and raising popular demands. A street fighter to the core, he was instrumental in forcing the state government to stop construction of a dam in Kushinagar as it went against the advice of the irrigation department.

Insiders in the party say that the incident of July 19, when Priyanka Gandhi staged the protest on the suggestions of Lallu, brought him close to the national leadership. The party believes that need of the hour is have a leader who has the stomach to take on the might of the government and who is not afraid of going to jail, if necessary.

The BJP, the BSP and the Samajwadi Party were caught unawares by the way the Congress, under the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi, had taken the lead in reaching out to the aggrieved families.

BJP spokesman Harish Chandra Srivastava had then called Priyanka’s visit as ‘political tourism’.

On July 17, at least 10 farmers were killed in broad daylight in Umbha village in Sonebhadra district when they opposed an attempt by the gram pradhan to take possession of a disputed plot of land. The dispute over that piece of land was 64 years old.

Lallu does not consider the Umbha protest as a turning point in his life. “The Congress always fights against oppression. We are lucky that Priynakaji led that protest and we made the arrogant Yogi government bow down”, Lallu said. “I thank Congress president Sonia Gandhi and general secretary Priyanka Gandhi who have given me this responsibility and I will strive hard to strengthen the party at the ground level,” he said.

Besides Lallu, a Vaishya leader by caste, 12 general secretaries and 24 secretaries have been appointed besides a 18-member advisory council to the general secretary and a eight-member working group on strategy and planning comprising senior leaders.

This new UPCC has a younger look. People say it was handpicked by Priyanka Gandhi who gave preference to leaders who had been working relentlessly at the grassroots level.

In the new committee 45 per cent representation has been given to people from the backward communities, 20 per cent to Dalits, 15 per cent to Muslims and 20 per cent to upper