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Updated: Aug 05, 2019 10:36 IST

The Youth Congress (YC) has flagged “infighting as the biggest impediment” in the party’s preparations for the upcoming assembly elections in Haryana and Jharkhand, a YC functionary said.

In a meeting with party general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal, the Youth Congress leaders expressed serious concern over the rampant factionalism in the two states, arguing that it was hurting the organisation as evident from its poor show in the just concluded Lok Sabha elections.

The Congress failed to open its account in Haryana where the BJP won all the 10 LS seats.

Youth Congress leaders told Venugopal that the squabbling between former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and state unit chief Ashok Tanwar had hurt the party since 2014, resulting in big loses in all the elections be it local bodies, assembly and Lok Sabha.

The central leadership is expected to take a call on the change of guard in Haryana after the Congress Working Committee meeting on August 10.

On Thursday, supporters of Jharkhand Congress chief Ajoy Kumar and former union minister Subodh Kant Sahay clashed outside the party office in Ranchi.

In a first, the YC has already started its campaign in the election-bound states, including Maharashtra, taking a lead over the parent organisation, which is still grappling with the leadership crisis.

Youth Congress president BV Srinivas said the cadre has been asked to pro-actively campaign in all the election going states without getting “distracted or disturbed” by the infighting.

“We have identified 60 seats in Maharashtra, 40 in Haryana and 30 in Jharkhand where Youth Congress office bearers and workers will campaign aggressively and highlight the ruling BJP’s failures in these states,” he said.