A few months before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress has made a major political move by appointing Dalit leader and former Delhi minister in the AAP government Rajendra Pal Gautam as its General Secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
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A few months before the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, the Congress has made a major political move by appointing Dalit leader and former Delhi minister in the AAP government Rajendra Pal Gautam as its General Secretary and in-charge of Uttar Pradesh.
He replaces Brahmin leader Avinash Pandey. This is being seen not as a routine organisational change but as an aggressive strategy to woo Dalits and marginalised sections.
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The Congress leadership believes that the BJP’s shift towards upper caste voters has created a void in the Dalit vote bank. Dalits were Congress’s core voters until the late 1980s, but later the BSP took over. However, in the last 7-10 years, the BSP has not been a serious contender for power.
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A senior Congress leader said, “The BSP’s graph has fallen. We see an opportunity.”
The 2024 Lok Sabha results have given Congress confidence. In 2024, Congress won six out of 17 seats with a vote share of 9.46%, compared to just the Rae Bareli seat and a vote share of 6.36% in 2019.
The SP-Congress alliance pushed the BJP to the second-highest position in UP. The BJP’s tally dropped from 62 seats in 2019 to 33, while the SP won 37.
The Congress’s journey in the Assembly has been full of ups and downs. In 2017, it won seven out of 105 seats in alliance with the SP. In 2022, it contested 399 seats alone and won only two seats—Rampur Khas and Farenda—its worst performance ever.
A senior Congress leader said, “Our performance in 2024 was better. The picture of an alliance with the SP is unclear, but by strengthening the organisation, we will improve our position in alliance discussions. We have five months to work on the ground.”
Rajendra Pal Gautam’s stature in the Congress has grown rapidly. He joined the Congress in September 2022, became the president of the SC Congress wing in June 2025, and in charge of a major state like Uttar Pradesh in June 2026. Gautam, who joined the Congress via the BSP and AAP, has experience in Dalit politics and grassroots mobilisation.
After taking charge, Gautam said, “I will be in Uttar Pradesh in a week and discuss the party’s strategy.” A party official said, “This indicates that more changes may occur in the state organisation in a few weeks.”
The BJP has a strong organisational network and has invested heavily in cultivating support among non-Jatav Dalits and non-Yadav OBCs. Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party remains the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh. The Congress will have to rebuild its Dalit base in 2027 amid the weakening of the BSP and seat-sharing with the Samajwadi Party.
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