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Congress appoints Rahul Gandhi party vice-president
Party holds back from naming Rahul as the prime ministerial candidate for the next general election
Jaipur: The ruling Congress on Saturday formally signalled a change of guard and appointed Rahul Gandhi as the vice-president of the party, but held back from naming him as the prime ministerial candidate for the next general election.
add_main_imageThe decision on his role in the election will be decided later, said general secretary Janardhan Dwivedi who made the announcement outside Birla House in Jaipur.
Accepting the position, Rahul Gandhi told the working committee members: “We will work together to transform the country”.NextMAds
Congress party rarely had posts like vice-president or working presidents. Late Congress veteran Arjun Singh was the last vice-president of the party who was in that position in the 1980s under late prime minister and Rahul Gandhi’s father Rajiv Gandhi when the latter was the president of the party. Kamalapati Tripathi was appointed as working president in 1983 when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister while H.N. Bahuguna became secretary general in 1980.
At the extended working committee meeting on Saturday evening, held after two days of discussion on various challenges facing party and the strategy in a brain storming session, defence minister and senior leader A.K. Antony moved a resolution seeking to make Rahul the vice-president of the party. The members of the CWC, the apex decision making body of the Congress, approved the decision thumping the desk and Congress president Sonia Gandhi gave consent to the decision. “It has been a long pending demand of the Congress members that greater responsibilities be given to Rahul Gandhi, “ said Antony in his resolution.
Announcing the decision, with Congress activists celebrating the decision with fireworks and drum beating outside the Birla House, Dwivedi said; “With his appointment as vice-president of the Congress, Rahul Gandhi has been elevated to number two position in the party and it will strengthen party and hands of the Congress president.”
Claiming that the Congress is the only pan-Indian and unified force that represent all sections, Dwivedi said the decision has reflected the strong feeling of the millions of Congress workers.
The decision, which the party is expecting to help to improve its electoral prospects in the upcoming elections, triggered celebrations among Congress activists across the country.
At least 10 states including Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, facing assembly elections this year and the next Lok Sabha poll is due in 2014. sixthMAds
The elevation of Rahul Gandhi, who first became a Lok Sabha member from Amethi in 2004, is likely to be followed by a reshuffle in the party, where he will be given free hand to choose his team. The reshuffle, which will augment the message of the generational shift in the ruling party which, the party is expecting to help it to get rid of the unpopularity created due to corruption charges against its leaders and its failure to check high inflation.
Gandhi, who had been tipped as the Congress party’s next prime ministerial candidate, has been working closely with youth and students’ wings of the party to rejuvenate them. Gandhi has long been rejecting top posts including prime ministership saying that he would focus on the organisation. Although his leadership had helped the party to win an impressive 21 seats from Uttar Pradesh in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections - after being in almost wilderness in the most populous state for more than two decades - the party failed to make much inroads into the state during the assembly election last year despite an aggressive campaign by him.
The first signals of his elevation came when he along with three other senior leaders was appointed as working president of the party when Sonia Gandhi was away in the US for treatment for an unknown illness. The appointments in the organisation as well as the October 2012 cabinet reshuffle also had his stamp on it.
It was announced after the two-day Chintan Shivir or a brainstorming session of 350 delegates - a mix of both veterans and youngsters- to discuss the party’s challenges and strategies to face them. The discussions on five points - emerging political challenges, socio-economic challenges, India and the world, women empowerment and organisational issues - the sub groups have submitted their reports to the extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting held on Saturday evening. The suggestions will be incorporated into a statement and the Sunday’s session is expected to adopt it as Jaipur declaration.
Party general secretary Digvijay Singh said : “Congress is one party that always given opportunities to young leaders. Rahul Gandhi has opened the doors of the Youth Congress for new leadership. He has conducted elections in both the youth and the students’ wings, which was thought to be impossible. He has made IYC and the NSUI as potent forces and now they have to be channelized as a political force.”
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First Published:19 Jan 2013, 08:45 PM IST
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