lucknow

Updated: Oct 11, 2019 12:02 IST

The Uttar Pradesh Congress faces dissension in its ranks a day before its new team takes charge here on Friday, according to some party veterans.

The team was appointed earlier this month to assist party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra in accomplishing Mission UP 2022.

Questions are being raised about the composition of the new team which has an average age of about 40 years. Many leaders are asking what would be the difference between the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee (UPCC) and the UP Youth Congress.

“The new team’s composition is against the concept of having senior and experienced leaders in the main party with the party’s youth and students wings giving representation to younger age groups. What difference will there between the UPCC team and the UP Youth Congress teams now?” said a senior party leader.

Other senior party leaders also said the party had not paid any attention to loyalists while those coming from other parties were given preference.

Senior leader Siraj Mehandi said, “The Congress had been following the practice of first making an appointment to the UPCC president’s post and giving a team thereafter (in the past). This time, a team has been imposed along with the appointment of new UPCC president. In the new team, preference has been given to those coming from other parties while the Congress leaders have been ignored.”

Mehandi, who has sent his resignation from the membership of the All India Congress Committee and the UPCC to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, has raised various other issues too in his letter. He said the party had not given any representation to the Shia community in the new team.

He said on the other hand the BJP had inducted a Shia community minister each in the Modi government at the Centre and in the Yogi government in the state. Various other important posts, like the chairman of the minority commission, had also been given to members of the Shia community, said Mehandi.

Former Congress MP Rajesh Mishra said he had no complaints, adding that he had only requested party leaders to relieve him from the post of member of the new advisory board headed by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.

“I am a disciplined soldier of the Congress. I have to follow instructions of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. I cannot advise a leader of her stature,” said Mishra.

As the new team arrives at the UPCC headquarters here on Friday, many senior leaders are debating whether they should reach there to welcome the new team. “We are not sure whether we are needed in the party,” said another senior leader.

Many others were talking about changes at the UPCC headquarters.Senior leaders, who had been taking care of day-to- day activities at the UPCC headquarters, were shown the door.

A UPCC spokesman said the new state party president Ajay Kumar Lallu has appointed party leaders Anoop Gupta and Siddharth Priya Srivastava as the organizational incharge and so they have taken over the charge of administration at the UPCC headquarters.

Meanwhile, the nameplates of senior leaders, who held the position of secretary etc in Raj babbar’s team too have been removed and the party leaders say this had been done to allocate offices to the new team.