The Uttar Pradesh Congress is headless even nearly four months after the state assembly elections which concluded March 10. Soon after the assembly election, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had asked the state party chiefs of four states, where the elections were held, to resign. The Congress had faced the worst-ever debacle in the UP assembly elections where its tally was reduced to merely two.

Ajay Kumar Lallu who had resigned after the UP fiasco has recently been elevated as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee. Even though Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is incharge of UP, the indecision by the party high command to appoint the new state president has led to concern and resentment among the party rank and file.

The three-day ‘Chintan Shivir’ organised by the Congress at Udaipur from May 13 had generated high  hopes among the UP Congress leaders that the new state president would be appointed before that and the UP Congress would be represented in the politically significant event.

State Congress sources said the selection of a new UPPCC chief was being delayed due to various reasons, including factors like the caste and age of the probables, and the question whether a sprawling state like UP should be given to only one president or it be split into four regions to be headed by different leaders.

Senior UP Congress leaders favour a younger leader to head the party as they feel revival is an uphill task and that it is difficult to work under the prevailing circumstances.

“The call has to be taken by Priyanka Vadra,” a party veteran said.

The sources said that among the leading UPPCC chief probables is senior Dalit leader PL Punia, the AICC incharge of Chhattisgarh.

Another prominent candidate for the UPPCC president’s post is Dalit leader Brijlal Khabri, who had quit the BSP in 2016, alleging sale of tickets for money and joined the Congress.

A former MP, Khabri is currently the vice-president of the Congress’s national SC department besides being the AICC secretary incharge of Bihar. Other probable candidates for the post include party’s OBC face Virendra Chaudhary, ex-MP Rajesh Mishra and Pramod Tiwari, who was recently elected to Rajya Sabha from Rajasthan.