Jairam Ramesh made convener of AICC 'Special Group' for polls preperations

NEW DELHI: Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh was today named as the Convener of a 'Special Group' of AICC set up to facilitate and coordinate actions for the coming Lok Sabha elections.

Ramesh, who has already been given key responsibilities in the party ahead of the 2014 polls, was today made the Convener of the special group which will serve as the secretariat for the existing coordination committee set up for next year's general elections recently, AICC General Secretary Janardan Dwivedi announced here.

Ramesh had resigned from the government ahead of the 2009 Lok Sabha polls to devote time for party work. There had been indications that the Union Minister could again quit the government as the next Lok Sabha elections near.

Ahead of assembly elections to five states, Ramesh was recently assigned greater responsibility within the Congress.

He was asked to ensure effective implementation of the party manifesto in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Mizoram and Jharkhand. He was made chairman of the manifesto implementation committees for four states.

This is in addition to the lead role Ramesh plays in charting out the party's strategy on key government schemes and identifying future challenges.