Anita Katyal | Will Pilot Treat Randhawa Right? Yogi Gains Edge From Saharanpur

The Congress leadership’s decision to hand over charge of poll-bound Punjab to Sachin Pilot has a side story which has set tongues wagging in the party. In his new capacity, Mr Pilot will necessarily have to deal with Gurdaspur MP and former Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. There is a history to Mr Pilot’s relationship with Mr Randhawa. As Rajasthan in-charge four years ago, Mr Randhawa had openly supported Mr Pilot’s bete noire Ashok Gehlot, going to the extent of lauding his governance record and declaring him to be the best chief minister. Mr Pilot and his supporters had then complained that the state in charge played a partisan role in his handling of their ongoing feud with Mr Gehlot. Congress insiders are wondering how the dynamic between the two leaders will work out as their roles have now been reversed. Mr Randhawa is positioning himself as a contender for the chief minister’s post in case the Congress wins Punjab. So, will it be payback time for Mr Pilot or will he bury the past and move on?

With Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati declaring that she was releasing her nephew and one-time heir apparent Akash Anand from the party, a section in the Congress is suggesting that the party leadership reach out to him with an eye on next year’s Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls. Mr Anand, it is argued, would prove to be an asset on the campaign trail as he is a forceful speaker, makes rousing speeches and does not hesitate to take on the Modi government which resonates with Dalit youth. The Samajwadi Party is also said to favour the proposed outreach to Mr Anand by the Congress. It is believed Mr Anand can help the Congress consolidate the Dalit vote in its favour. However, it’s still too early to predict if Mr Anand will be amenable to shift loyalties to the Congress though there are indications that he is not giving up on a career in politics and could explore other options if the break with BSP is final this time.

The Bharatiya Janata Party leadership was hoping to rein in Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath by denying him a free hand in the distribution of tickets in next year’s Assembly election. This has been an ongoing effort ever since Yogi emerged as a leader in his own right and is even seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s successor. But Yogi has always been a step ahead of his detractors. The chief minister set the tone for the coming election with the demolition of a century-old mosque in Saharanpur in an obvious attempt to polarise the state ahead of the election, a move which can hardly be objected to by the party bosses in Delhi. If the BJP is seen to be gaining from this move as it believes it will, the party will find it increasingly difficult to deny Yogi a role in ticket distribution which is critical in any election.

There was a time when Congress leaders lobbied hard to be appointed general secretary in the organisation as the post earned them a seat in the party’s working committee and, often, charge of a state. While general secretaries belonged to the party’s top echelons, the secretaries attached to them functioned in anonymity. They were barely seen or heard and given little responsibility. But there’s a sea change now as the party is currently witnessing a race for the relatively junior post of secretary. This shift in attitude follows the appointments made by the Congress leadership in the last few months. A number of secretaries have been promoted and given charge of a state. For instance, Srivella Prasad has been given charge of Maharashtra, P.V. Mohan is entrusted with the responsibility of Andhra Pradesh affairs, Sukhdeo Bhagat is in charge of Chhattisgarh, Sanjay Dutt has been given Haryana and Prakash Joshi West Bengal. They were all secretaries but have now got independent charge. In addition, Rahul Gandhi has been interviewing candidates from the states for induction as party secretaries as there is a view that the large talent pool of secretaries had not been tapped and given the due they deserved.

There was all-round surprise in the Congress when senior leader Mukul Wasnik was retained as general secretary without portfolio even after being divested of the charge of the state of Gujarat in the latest round of appointments announced recently. The only other general secretary without any charge is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. As always, there is considerable speculation about Mr Wasnik’s staying power and longevity. One view is that Rahul Gandhi was not in favour of sacking Mr Wasnik as he is a Dalit and removing him would send out a wrong message when the Congress is actively wooing the Scheduled Castes. There are others who believe that Mr Wasnik could take over as general secretary in charge of party organisation, a position currently held by K.C. Venugopal as and when Rahul Gandhi finds an appropriate posting for him. There is also a buzz in the party that the long-awaited election management department could finally be set up next month with Priyanka as its head while Mr Wasnik would be named deputy or convener of this proposed department.