Rahul may pick up pen to inspire youth

NEW DELHI: The Nehru-Gandhi scion is all set for another experiment to rejuvenate the Congress youth wing. After moves such as ���talent hunt��� , organisational elections in states and a membership drive through SMS, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi is ready to bring out a youth-centric publication.

The proposed mouthpiece of the Youth Congress will be named ���Youth March��� in English and ���Yuva Pragati��� in Hindi. This is the next step in the ���transformation of the Youth Congress��� that Mr Gandhi embarked on after being appointed general secretary in charge of the youth organisations.

The format and content of the publication will be finalised shortly. ���A dummy proposal will be considered by a team in a few days,��� a party functionary said. The magazine is expected to provide a window to Mr Gandhi���s thinking on issues. The Congress heir-apparent may consider writing a "column" on the lines of the one that his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi writes in Congress Sandesh. ���Through the magazine, the youth will get an insight into Rahulji���s vision and this will strengthen the youth movement,��� Indian Youth Congress chief Ashok Tanwar said.

It is expected that the magazine will seek to reach out to the members of the Youth Congress. Sources said that following the membership drive, the youth wing of the party could have as many as 2 crore members. ���The membership of the Youth Congress is at 13 lakh in the four states���Punjab , Gujarat, Puducherry and Daman and Diu���where a membership drive and elections have been held. Once the exercise is undertaken across the country, membership would be at two crore,��� a Youth Congress functionary said.

Besides the Youth Congress cadres, the proposed publication intends to reach out to the youth that are not yet committed to any political party. ���The magazine will provide a strong co-relation between the aspirations of the youth, the Congress policies and the aam aadmi,��� IYC chief Ashok Tanwar said. Party sources believe that the magazine will go a long way in propagating the views of the party among youth.