Lobbying on as Kharge set to revamp Congress team

NEW DELHI: Newly-elected Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will formally take charge from Sonia Gandhi on October 26. His appointment will be followed by a complete revamp of organisational bodies, including the Congress Working Committee, frontal organisations, departments and cells.

Kharge will also choose the new team at AICC, including general secretaries and secretaries. Lobbying has started for the all-powerful post of AICC general secretary (organisation) which is currently held by KC Venugopal. Sources said this post may go to a leader from north India as the president comes from Karnataka, and Rahul Gandhi, who would continue to wield influence in party matters, represents Kerala in Parliament.

Rahul will take a two-day break from the Bharat Jodo Yatra to attend the event where Kharge will take charge. Kharge is expected to convene an AICC plenary session before the end of this calendar year where the CWC elections will be held to choose 12 new members of the party’s highest decision-making body. The CWC members will be elected by nearly 1,400 AICC members who will attend the plenary.

Sources said Kharge is likely to make some top-ranking appointments in the AICC before the party plenary in order to put together his team for the CWC elections. If the Gandhi family and Kharge allow a free and fair election to the CWC, a large number of sitting members could lose their place in the body. The CWC has 23 members, besides the Congress president. Twelve of them are elected while the rest are nominated to ensure representation to sections that lose out in elections.

Kharge will also play a crucial role in the election of state party presidents. The fate of the disciplinary panel set up to recommend action against three leaders from Rajasthan who prevented the state MLAs from meeting central observers also hangs in the balance. 

DMK suspends leader  after tweet on Kharge 
Days after DMK spokesperson K S Radhakrishnan tweeted a picture of new Congress president  Mallikarjun Kharge and captioned it “another Manmohan Singh”, the DMK on Friday suspended him from the party