Ahmed Patel new AICC treasurer, Motilal Vora now secretary at 90

Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday appointed Ahmed Patel as treasurer of All India Congress Committee, marking the “formal return” of former political secretary to former party president Sonia Gandhi to AICC’s top structure.

Patel succeeds 90-year-old Motilal Vora who has been treasurer of the party for 18 years. Incidentally, Vora had taken over as party treasurer in 2000 from the same Ahmed Patel, who had held that post from 1996-2000, during the presidency of Sitaram Kesri and in the initial years of Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, before he was appointed as the political secretary to Gandhi.

Vora, despite his advanced age, remains 24 Akbar Road’s ‘evergreen’ leader. As a mark of Congress high command’s appreciation for his services and unflinching loyalty, Vora was accommodated in the leadership team as AICC general secretary (administration). He will focus fully on the routine administrative matters of the party.


Some party insiders said this is also intended to lighten housekeeping workload of AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation Ashok Gehlot and help the latter to focus more on upcoming assembly elections in Rajasthan where he was twice chief minister, from 1998-2003 and from 2008-2013.

Rajya Sabha member Vora is also chairman and managing director of Associated Journals Ltd, which owns party mouthpiece The National Herald. Retaining him in AICC may also help motivate party men in poll - bound Chhattisgarh where Vora belongs to, some people said. Gandhi also named CWC member Anand Sharma as chairman of foreign affairs department of AICC, making it two quick promotions for the deputy leader of Congress in the Rajya Sabha.

Sharma, who was earlier secretary of the department and has considerable expertise in international affairs, succeeds ageing senior leader Karan Singh. Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar also got a positing as a permanent invitee to the CWC. Appointment of Kumar, daughter of the late Jagjivan Ram, brings representation to Bihar in the Congress top body besides adding to Dalit representation in the leadership in the run-up to national elections.