Congress Does Housekeeping
Last week the Congress party undertook an organisational reshuffle appointing Sachin Pilot as the Punjab in-charge. This was a good move, for Pilot was being wasted in Chhattisgarh (his earlier charge), while Punjab is a crucial state for the Congress. Prior to this move, former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel was handling Punjab. However, Baghel was not able to quell the factionalism within the party. One positive sign of Pilot’s new charge is that the announcement was welcomed by all factions—from Charanjit Singh Channi to Amarinder Singh Warring. As for Baghel, he too has been welcomed in Assam, where the then in-charge, Jitender Singh Alwar, had resigned post the Assembly loss. But he had also engaged in a turf war with Gaurav Gogoi, the state PCC chief. Hence, a course correction was needed in that state as well. However, the headline of the reshuffle was Sachin Pilot, for he has proved himself in earlier states as well—it was under his charge that the Congress came to power in Rajasthan in 2018 (he was the PCC chief), though the Chief Ministership went to his bête noire, Ashok Gehlot. More recently, he was also given charge of Kerala in the state polls and the Congress came back to power. The key question as far as Pilot is concerned is not so much to do with Punjab, as it is with Rajasthan that goes to polls in 2028. Will he be given a free hand then? For him that must be the key question.
What about Priyanka?
Although Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has not been given an official portfolio as yet, though she is a party general secretary, the buzz is that she will soon be heading an election management committee that will be overseeing the roadmap for the 2029 polls. This will be perhaps the party’s most sought after committee as it will give its members a chance to come on board Team Priyanka. This is also one reason why Mukul Wasnik was relieved of the Gujarat charge for he is tipped to join the same. It would be interesting to see who else will come on board, for this will be Priyanka’s major responsibility post Uttar Pradesh, a state which she still monitors very closely even though she is no longer the in-charge.
More on the Congress reshuffle
The hard-working but self-effacing Madhu Yaskhi Goud has been given the charge of the Professional Congress. He will be replacing Praveen Chakravarty. Prior to this, Madhu was handling Rahul Gandhi’s NRI interactions abroad along with Sam Pitroda. According to sources, the combination of professional delivery and personal connect that Madhu brings to the table was a key factor in this decision. Both Madhu’s appointment, as well as that of Sandeep Dikshit at the Rachnatmak Congress (previously known as the party’s outreach platform to engage academics, stakeholders and professionals on policy matters) is seen as key building blocks of Team Rahul. Both have a good rapport with Rahul Gandhi and will be taking direction from him. More to the point, both are focused, and have their own equation with the media and public at large. So, instead of doing a comprehensive reshuffle at one go, Rahul is clearly building his team, one person at a time. There are many more changes to come, including some in the media department, so watch this space.
