After Rahul Gandhi’s elevation, Congress likely to give GenNext a leg-up

NEW DELHI: Congress will amplify its "youth message" by reserving half the seats in its much-awaited brainstorming session for leaders under 40 years.

The party is likely to hold the "chintan shivir" in January, an exhaustive assessment of the party's ideological and governance positions that was announced by Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the Burari meet in end-2010.

The 'shivir' will be held after Rahul Gandhi's elevation as Congress No.2 is done and dusted with. With the party seeking to project the impending succession as a generational change, it is mulling the idea of reserving half the seats for leaders under 40.

The party conclave includes senior leaders, ministers and invitees from state units and even outside experts, making it a jamboree of sorts. Sources said earmarking 50% seats for the young would send out a strong message to the youth constituency that the party is hoping to woo with Rahul's leadership.

A party manager underlined that newly-appointed HRD minister Pallam Raju was spotted in the 2003 Shimla conclave.

If the party does keep half of the shivir seats for under-40 leaders, there would be greater chance for young MLAs, MPs, leaders at block, district and state level, and those in Youth Congress and NSUI to interact at the top level.

It is expected to kick off a ripple effect and create the kind of buzz that preceded Rahul's plunge into the 2009 campaign. According to party sources, the need for a policy huddle ahead of 2014 elections stems from the imperative of thrashing out policy and ideological positions afresh after the rustiness of eight years in power.

Unlike conferences and rallies that are trumpets for party and government, 'chintan shivir' is seen as a sombre assessment of Congress's policy course.

The 2003 shivir in Shimla decided that Congress was ready for coalitions, which let Sonia Gandhi stitch the alliances that ultimately helped it trump a rampaging BJP-led NDA.

On the contrary, the 1998 Panchmarhi session followed the defeat at the hands of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-powered BJP coalition and decided that it would not enter alliance politics.