A demand to change PCC chiefs in over half-a-dozen states is gaining ground in the Congress, with party insiders viewing that this will be the right time for it before the party gears up for the elect
A demand to change PCC chiefs in over half-a-dozen states is gaining ground in the Congress, with party insiders viewing that this will be the right time for it before the party gears up for the electoral battle against the BJP. These states include Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Orissa.
Although Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is relying on poll strategist Prashant Kishor to deliver in next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly battle, PCC president Nirmal Khatri has his limitations. He is a loyalist, grew in the organisation and has a clean image but these qualities will not help the Sonia Gandhi-led party become relevant against Mayawati (BSP), Mulayam Singh Yadav and chief minister Akhilesh Yadav (SP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi (MP from Varanasi) and BJP chief Amit Shah.
Mr Kishor is said to have made various suggestions as to who should the party’s “face” and chief in the state.
In Bihar, PCC chief Ashok Chaudhary has not revived the party despite being a minister in the Nitish Kumar government. His dependence on the RJD-JD(U) will not help the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The Congress high command has to appoint a PCC chief who can work independently, insiders said.
Madhya Pradesh, a key state for the Congress despite being out of power since 2003, will go to the polls in 2018. The party needs a dynamic leader who can get mileage from the anti-incumbency factor and inculcate the spirit of unity in the organisation.
It is also a state of “senior leaders of the party known for their proximity to the Gandhi-Nehru family”. And before them, incumbent PCC chief Arun Yadav is seen as a junior. The state has been divided in different factions which helped the BJP strengthen its support base.
Ideally, Jyotiraditya Scindia should be the natural choice of the AICC to lead the Madhya Pradesh unit but he is said to not be prepared to camp there and be a state leader.
AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh had earlier held the positions of PCC chief and chief minister. Ajay Singh, the son of late Congress leader Arjun Singh, has his limitations and the Congress cannot afford to make experiments by appointing Satyavrat Chaturvedi and others, they said. If insiders are to be believed, senior leader Kamal Nath could deliver.
