After Punjab, Congress high command faces another test in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh

AICC sources said Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, and party general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal met Gautam for about an hour on Friday to discuss issues that could affect the functioning of the state unit under Rai.

Vadra has been involved in party affairs related to Uttar Pradesh since the Congress started preparing for the 2027 Assembly polls and has participated in key meetings. However, some leaders in the state unit are worried that the friction between Rai and Gautam could affect the party’s prospects in the crucial Assembly elections next year.

According to sources, Rai’s unease with Gautam has been heightened by the latter’s reported push for a change in the state president, with Gautam arguing that a Muslim leader would better fit the Congress’s attempt to build a social coalition of Dalits and Muslims. Gautam is learnt to have suggested the name of Nadeem Javed, a former MLA from Jaunpur.

“The idea behind Gautam pitching a Muslim is simple. A Dalit in-charge and a Muslim state president would put more pressure on the SP during seat-sharing talks, considering that the SP is banking on Muslim support,” a senior Congress MP said.

Leaders in the state unit described the Rai-Gautam combination as a “difficult” one.

“Rai’s politics is centred around temples and upper-caste communities, while Gautam is a hardcore Ambedkarite who is uncomfortable with mixing politics and religion. So, for them to not get along is natural,” said a senior UP Congress leader.

The leader also drew a contrast between Gautam’s working relationship with Rai and the latter’s ties with the previous AICC in-charge, Avinash Pande. “Pande had a good relationship with Rai and also frequently visited temples and shared Rai’s ideological outlook. But the problem is that Rai cannot bring much to the table when upper castes are already firmly behind the BJP in UP,” the leader said.

Sources in the party said there had been several instances of Rai and Gautam avoiding each other at party programmes.

Rai, meanwhile, is learnt to be unhappy with Gautam’s style of functioning, with state leaders accusing the AICC in-charge of trying to operate like the state president.

“The role of the state in-charge, who comes to a state on behalf of the AICC, is that of an observer. But Gautam is trying to become a neta (leader), which is not going down well with the state leadership or Ajay Rai. Gautam also does not understand the internal dynamics of the party in UP. There are bigger leaders who have been consistently advising the high command — people like Rajeev Shukla, Salman Khurshid and Pramod Tiwari, all of whom are from UP,” a party leader said.

Sources in the AICC, however, said Gandhi had given Gautam considerable freedom to make organisational changes. “Gautam is Rahulji’s close confidant. It is clear from the way he has been elevated in the party despite coming from the AAP. This is because Rahulji is backing him,” an AICC source said.

The high command is also learnt to be unhappy with the proposed list of district presidents being prepared as part of the Congress’s ambitious Sangathan Srijan exercise in Uttar Pradesh. According to AICC sources, the list contains “too many” upper-caste names despite the party’s focus on Dalits and OBCs.

“This was also flagged by Gautam during Friday’s meeting with Gandhi, Vadra and Venugopal,” an AICC source said.

Both leaders have denied that there was any friction between them.

At a press briefing on Thursday, during which AIMIM leader Asim Waqr joined the Congress, the two leaders were asked about reports of differences between them. Gautam dismissed the reports, saying they were “rumours being spread by the BJP”.