RANCHI:
Ajay Kumar, who was appointed as president of the state Congress on Thursday, may find handling senior party leaders and winning the trust of grass-roots workers a daunting task. Besides, he has to prepare the grand old party for future electoral battles against its arch rival, the BJP.
A day after the change of guard, Kumar's predecessor,
Sukhdeo Bhagat
, met AICC vice president
Rahul Gandhi in New Delhi on Friday. After the meeting, Bhagat said, "I have happily passed on the baton to Kumar." He added, "During my tenure, we started gaining grounds and were able to win two byelections."
Bhagat said, "We also strengthened our party by organising frequent rallies in the state capital." Following the shake-up at the top, former Union minister
Subodh Kant Sahay
was made chairman of the party's campaign committee while
Rameshwar Oraon
was nominated as in-charge of the planning and strategic committee.
Emerging from a meeting with Rahul in New Delhi on Friday evening, Kumar, an IPS officer-turned-politician, said, "People in Jharkhand want the Congress to be strong enough to face the BJP."
Many in the party said they were surprised by Kumar's appointment as their state unit present. They added that they were many contenders for the post besides Kumar.
They said Kumar might take a long time to win over the party's tribal leaders and supporters. Undeterred by such observations, Kumar told TOI, "Our party leadership has been fair and right in its decisions. I have a decent chemistry with all senior leaders of the party in the state. We will certainly get along well." He will officially take charge of the state unit on Tuesday.
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