Andhra Pradesh received a jolt in the much delayed AICC reshuffle as none of its leaders figured in the Congress Working Committee nor were any made general secretary. Mr Mohan Prakash emerged as a big gainer with promotion to general secretary from secretary; he was also put in charge of the crucial states of Maharashtra and Gujarat and sensitive Jammu and Kashmir. Mr Ghulam Nabi Azad, perhaps the seniormost general secretary, remained a great survivor. He has been given troubled states like Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu along with Puducherry (UT).
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi undertook the reshuffle on Friday after nearly 20 months since UPA II came to power at the Centre in May 2009.
While five Union ministers — Mr M. Veerappa Moily, Mr Mallikarjun Kharge, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, Mr V. Narayanasamy and Mr Jairam Ramesh — were dropped from the CWC and organisational posts, perhaps under the one man, one post principle, Mr Azad and Mr Mukul Wasnik will continue to handle responsibilities in the government and in the organisation. Mr Wasnik is in charge of party affairs in Rajasthan.
Mr P. Chidambaram found place in the CWC for the first time under the “permanent invitees” category.
The new faces in the CWC and the AICC are Union minister Beni Prasad Verma, former governor S.C. Jamir, former Maharashtra Legislative Council chairman Shivajirao Deshmukh, Mr Birender Singh, Mr Madhusudan Mistry, Mr M.V. Rajasekharan, Mr Dhani Ram Shandil, Mr Gulchain Singh Charak, Mr Raj Babbar, Ms Hemo Prova Saikia and Ms Sushila Tiriya. Mr Beni Prasad Verma found a place in the highest decision making body due to the coming UP Assembly polls.
Mr Shakeel Ahmed, who was AICC spokesperson, was promoted to general secretary and put in charge of another key state — West Bengal — as well as Jharkhand and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Andhra Pradesh is the only major state whose results not only brought the Congress back to power at the Centre and in the state Assembly in 2004, but it also repeated its performance in 2009. The Telangana issue might have marred its leaders’ chances to play a role at the national level. While the dropping of Mr G. Venkataswamy was a foregone conclusion ever since he tried to challenge the authority of the high command, seniors like Mr V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Mr N. Janardhana Reddy and Mr K. Keshav Rao have been left out. Mr G. Sanjeeva Reddy remains a special invitee to the CWC as INTUC chief and Mr V. Hanumantha Rao and Mr P. Sudhakar Reddy retained their posts as AICC secretaries.
Mr Keshav Rao, who was in charge of party affairs in West Bengal, was dropped in the middle of the election process while senior general secretary Mohsina Kidwai was made CWC member in charge of the Mahila Congress. She was a general secretary handling party affairs in Kerala, which goes to the polls next month.
The seven states going to the polls next year are Manipur, Gujarat, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Mrs Gandhi made Mr Digvijay Singh in charge of UP, Assam and publicity and publications; Mr Birender Singh of Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi; Mr Dhani Ram Shandil of Mizoram along with Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya; Mr Jagmeet Singh Brar of Goa with Daman & Diu and Dadra & Nagar Haveli; and Mr Gulchain Singh Charak of Punjab along with Bihar and Chandigarh.
Those who failed to find a place in the new set-up are Mr K. Keshav Rao, Mr Satyavrat Chaturvedi, Mr G. Venkataswamy, Mr V. Kishore Chandra Deo, Mr C.K. Jaffer Sharief and Mr Saifuddin Soz. Mr A.K. Antony has been relieved of organisational responsibilities and remains a CWC member.
Mrs Gandhi nominated 41 CWC members, including in the permanent and special invitees categories, nine general secretaries and 35 secretaries, treasurer and political secretary. She also allocated work to the new general secretaries and CWC members in charge of different states. The exercise appears to have undertaken keeping in mind the principle of “continuity with change”.
Mr Motilal Vora remains treasurer, Mr Ahmed Patel remains political secretary to the Congress president, and Mr Rahul Gandhi, Mr Digvijay Singh, Mr Janardan Dwivedi, Mr Azad and Mr Wasnik remain general secretaries. Mr Oscar Fernandes, who continues to be chairman of the party’s central election authority, has been made general secretary. Mr Rahul Gandhi remains in charge of the Youth Congress and the NSUI; Mr B.K. Hariprasad of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Haryana; Mr Janardan Dwivedi of organisation, organisational elections, training programmes and coordination; Mr Madhusudan Mistry of Karnataka, Kerala and Lakshadweep; Mr Oscar Fernandes of AICC meetings, sessions, CWC, CEC, AICC departments; Mr Jagdish Tytler of Orissa and Congress Seva Dal; and Mr Luizinho Falerio of Sikkim, Manipur, Nagaland, and Tripura.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, information and broadcasting minister Ambika Soni, Dr Karan Singh, Mr Makhan Lal Fotedar, Mr R.K. Dhawan, Mr S.C. Jamir and Mr Ajit Jogi have been appointed CWC members. Mr Janardan Dwivedi, responding to questions, said the Congress’ central election committee and the party’s different departments have yet to be reconstituted.