Senior Congress leader Ajay Singh Yadav accuses the “coterie” of being behind his replacement, Anil Jaihind, who joined the party just two months ago, and says he will ask the high leadership for clarification.
On Thursday evening, Anil Jaihind, a recent Congress recruit, was appointed chairman of the party’s Other Backward Classes (OBC) Department, replacing Ajay Singh Yadav. Jaihind, 68, who joined the Congress less than two months ago, has swiftly risen within the party, gaining prominence through his close association with Rahul Gandhi and his role in organizing the Samvidhan Sammelan meetings focused on social justice.
A trained doctor, Jaihind succeeds Yadav, who had led the OBC Department since February 2022 and openly criticized the Haryana Congress leadership after the party’s unexpected defeat in the October 2024 Assembly elections. The appointment aligns with the Congress’s recent push for organizational reforms, as resolved in the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session in Ahmedabad, which emphasized OBC outreach. Party sources suggest more leadership changes may follow as part of a broader restructuring, building on decisions from the earlier Belagavi AICC session.
Jaihind, a Yadav from Haryana now active in Bihar’s Samvidhan Sammelans, draws inspiration from Voltaire and the French Revolution. “Voltaire said that if slaves realize their condition, they’ll break free. The OBCs and oppressed groups don’t fully see how the BJP’s communal ideology exploits them. Our job is to show them,” he said. Beyond awareness, Jaihind plans to strengthen party organization, hold targeted gatherings, and train orators with compelling content.
However, his appointment has sparked controversy. Ajay Singh Yadav, informed of his removal while attending a Congress OBC event in Solapur, Maharashtra, called it “unceremonious.” In a series of posts on X, Yadav labeled his ouster a “conspiracy by a coterie” to humiliate him, claiming he had previously resigned but was persuaded to stay. He accused the party of prioritizing a “parallel OBC NGO” led by Jaihind and demanded meetings with Sonia Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, and Rahul Gandhi, threatening to reveal more at a press conference.
Yadav’s frustration compounds a string of setbacks, including losses in the 2014 Haryana Assembly election (Rewari) and the 2019 Lok Sabha polls (Gurugram). Once a towering figure in South Haryana with five Rewari Assembly wins (1991-2009) and key ministerial roles under Bhupinder Singh Hooda (2009-2014), Yadav also has notable family ties—his son Chiranjeev Rao is married to RJD leader Lalu Prasad’s daughter Anushka, and his sister is former Justice Nirmal Yadav.
Jaihind’s own roots trace to Haryana, though he grew up in Delhi’s Pitampura. His father, Surjan Singh Yadav, a freedom fighter devoted to Subhas Chandra Bose, inspired the family’s “Jaihind” moniker. After earning an MBBS from Delhi’s University College of Medical Sciences in 1978, Jaihind worked at Safdarjung Hospital, where he met B.P. Mandal, the Mandal Commission chair. Influenced by Mandal’s advocacy for social justice, Jaihind joined protests for the commission’s recommendations.
Jaihind’s political journey spans the Congress, Janata Dal (1992), and Sharad Yadav’s Loktantrik Janata Dal (2018). He contested the 1993 Delhi Assembly election from Nangloi Jat but lost and later focused on activism. In 2023, after leaving the RJD following its merger with LJD, Jaihind says Rahul Gandhi’s office reached out. Impressed by Gandhi’s focus on caste and social justice, Jaihind joined the Congress in February 2025. He proposed Samvidhan Sammelans—intimate gatherings with intellectuals and activists, unlike mass rallies—to amplify Gandhi’s message. Ten such meetings have been held nationwide, with Gandhi as the keynote speaker.
A senior Congress leader defended Jaihind’s rapid rise, stating, “We’re prioritizing those committed to social justice and unwavering in ideology. Such appointments will continue.” In Haryana, sources noted Jaihind’s Bihar work aligns with the party’s strategy to court backward and Dalit voters ahead of polls there.
Jaihind expressed optimism about his role, saying, “Activists are excited. People see through the BJP’s deception, especially in Bihar. Our aim is to take Rahul Gandhi’s message to the grassroots.” Meanwhile, managing the fallout from Yadav’s exit remains Jaihind’s immediate challenge.
