Congress chief Kharge appoints AICC observers for MP, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh to maximize poll outcomes

The AICC in charge of Madhya Pradesh JP Agarwal told ETV Bharat that the AICC observers, who are senior leaders from across the country, will help the party achieve the objective of converting public support into votes. -- Reports Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed AICC observers Lok Sabha seat-wise to convert public support into votes in BJP-ruled Madhya Pradesh.

“There is a huge opportunity for the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. The people are angry with the BJP over lack of governance and corruption issues. But the challenge is to convert public support into votes. The AICC observers, who are senior leaders from across the country, will help the party achieve that objective,” AICC in charge of Madhya Pradesh JP Agarwal told ETV Bharat.

"The AICC observers will provide that extra layer of leadership to the party at the assembly seat level. The person in charge of a Lok Sabha area will actually supervise around eight assembly seats that will come under him or her. They will also coordinate with our booth-level teams for maximizing voter turnout,” senior Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Shobha Oza said.

“There are several issues during poll time for which the AICC in charge or the PCC chief cannot be bothered but they need to be conveyed to the high command. Herein, the AICC observers come in handy. They bring with them the experience of fighting elections and have an influence on the local workers,” she said.

Additionally, Kharge has also deployed AICC general secretary Randeep Surjewala as a senior observer and Maharashtra veteran Chandrakant Handore as an observer for Madhya Pradesh, which the party had won in 2018 but later lost its government in 2020 after Jyotiraditya Scindia moved to the BJP. In Congress-ruled Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh too, Kharge has adopted a similar strategy and deployed AICC observers Lok Sabha seat-wise. However, their roles will be different.

“The AICC observers will redress any grudges of the party workers and ensure better coordination between the organization and the state government. During a recent review meeting, Rahul ji had flagged this issue in Rajasthan,” AICC secretary in charge of Rajasthan Qazi Nizamuddin said. According to Qazi, the AICC secretaries as well as the state leaders have since been interacting with party workers assembly seat-wise to boost their morale and listen to their issues which are then taken up with the state government, he said.

There are 29 Lok Sabha seats in Madhya Pradesh, 25 in Rajasthan and 11 in Chhattisgarh. A similar initiative called “Chalo Booth” aimed to bridge the gap between the party workers and the voters is also being run in Chhattisgarh where Kharge named Bastar MP Deepak Baij as the new PCC chief recently.

Outgoing PCC chief Mohan Markam was made a minister in the state government along with the promotion of senior minister TS Singh Deo who was made the deputy chief minister just months ahead of the crucial polls. The move was taken to assure the supporters of Singh Deo and Markam while Baij, considered close to chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, was given the charge to head the state unit.

On the lines of MP, Kharge has also named veteran Madhusudan Mistry as a senior observer and Sasikanth Senthil as an observer for Rajasthan and appointed Uttarakhand leader Pritam Singh as a senior observer and Meenakshi Natarajan as an observer for Chhattisgarh.