NewsDrum Informals: 'Performance appraisal' of KC Venugopal

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Performance appraisal

Congress general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal has more detractors than friends in the party. A whisper campaign against this powerful general secretary has been going on for a long time now but due to his closeness to Rahul Gandhi the dissenting voices have remained subdued. 

Soon after the debacle in Maharashtra, a user took to X to post a report card of the Congress party's performance in the assembly and Lok Sabha elections since Venugopal took over as the general secretary in-charge of organisation in 2019.

• Lok Sabha elections (2019) - Lost
• Lok Sabha elections (2024) - Lost
• Assembly elections (2019) - Odisha: Lost
• Arunachal Pradesh: Lost
• Andhra Pradesh: Lost Maharashtra: Lost
• Haryana: Lost
• Jharkhand: Won (With JMM as a senior partner in alliance)
• Sikkim: Lost

Assembly elections (2020)

• Bihar: Lost
• Delhi: Lost

Assembly elections (2021)

• Assam: Lost
• Kerala: Lost
• Puducherry: Lost
• Tamil Nadu: Won (With DMK as a senior partner in alliance)
• West Bengal: Lost

Assembly elections (2022) 

• Himachal Pradesh: Won 
• Punjab: Lost
• Uttar Pradesh: Lost
• Uttarakhand: Lost
• Gujarat: Lost
• Goa: Lost
• Manipur: Lost

Assembly elections (2023)

• Nagaland: Lost
• Tripura: Lost
• Meghalaya: Lost
• Karnataka: Won
• Chhattisgarh: Lost
• Rajasthan: Lost
• Madhya Pradesh: Lost
• Telangana: Won
• Mizoram: Lost

Assembly elections (2024)

• Odisha: Lost
• Arunachal Pradesh: Lost
• Andhra Pradesh: Lost
• Maharashtra: Lost 
• Haryana: Lost
• Jharkhand: Won (With JMM as a senior partner in alliance)
• Sikkim: Lost
• Jammu and Kashmir: Won (With JKNC as a senior partner) 

According to X user Riyaz, the Congress party has barely won three state elections on its own and four in alliance out of the total 40 contested with Venugopal at the helm. 

"Still don't understand why he is continuing as a General Secretary Organisation. Are there no better people in Congress for this role? Enough is enough?" he asked.

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Repeated poll defeats don't deter this Congress neta

Some people never give up even if success repeatedly remains elusive. One such example is Jharkhand Congress leader KN Tripathi. 

He is said to have lost the fifth election of his political career in the recent Jharkhand assembly polls. Contesting from Daltonganj, he lost the assembly elections in 2005, 2014, 2019 and now 2024. Tripathi also faced defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from Chatra constituency. The only time he won from Daltonganj was in the 2009 assembly elections. 

The interesting part is that in every election in the past he has managed to get a Congress ticket despite stiff opposition from other deserving party contenders. This time, Congress general secretary in-charge of Jharkhand Ghulam Ahmed Mir and party's Lok Sabha member from Amethi Kishori Lal Sharma batted for him and ensured he got the nomination. But he lost, yet again. 

Tripathi had also filed his nomination for the Congress president's elections in 2022 but his papers were rejected on technical grounds and he hot eliminated without contesting the polls.

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Maha headache for BJP

Caretaker Maharashtra chief minister Eknath Shinde is upset over the BJP's denial of a second successive term for him. The Shiv Sena has argued that Shinde rightfully deserves the chief minister's post because the Mahayuti had contested the assembly elections under his leadership and that his welfare schemes such as Ladki Bahin Yojna did wonders for the alliance and ensured its landslide victory over the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi. The BJP is firm to have its own chief minister this time. And it has secured the support of NCP's Ajit Pawar in its endeavour, thus cutting Shinde to size. 

The oath ceremony of the new Maharashtra chief minister is said to be on December 5, 12 days after Mahayuti won the elections, and Shinde has started showing his displeasure. During a visit to his hometown of Satara, he is said to have fallen ill. As per his family doctor RM Patre, Shinde has been suffering from a fever, cold, and throat infection for the past few days. He has been administered antibiotics and saline and is expected to recover soon. How soon is soon, only Shinde would be able to say. 

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A stronger and confident Soren this time

Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren was seen in a different avatar during his oath-taking ceremony. A highly energised and charged-up Soren was seen moving around the dais greeting the dignitaries and also giving instructions to his officials. The opposition leaders were present in full strength. 

However, Soren has also sent signals to the Congress leaders that he will no longer accept their political blackmailing. Before his swearing-in ceremony, the Congress had desperately tried to approach him with a request to allow one of its legislators to take oath along with him. Soren rejected the demand outright. The Congress finally had to eat a humble pie. Perhaps, some indications of a tough time ahead for the Congress in Jharkhand.