Rahul tries to address multiple issues with three new PCC presidents

NEW DELHI: At the behest of Rahul Gandhi, AICC on Monday sent message of Congress organisational aggression in Mamata Banerjee’s West Bengal, a signal of generation shift in Bhupinder Singh Hooda’s Haryana and a warning against the factional manoeuvres of Ommen Chandy-Ramesh Chennithala groups in Kerala. This is the sub-text in appointments of Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Ashok Tanwar and VM Sudheeran as PCC presidents of West Bengal, Haryana and Kerala, respectively.

The organisational elevation of Minister of State for Railways Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury means it is electoral war against both Mamata-led Trinamool and CPM-led Left Front in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This could be some kind of a relief for the Left which is mortally afraid of a Congress-Trinamool pact that could cripple the Communist electoral presence in the state.

The appointment of Chowdhury, a target of Mamata Banerjee, also comes in the wake of Trinamool’s bid to make inroads into Congress base in Malda and Murshidabad.

“The change in state leadership is not an indication of lack of faith in me. To tackle Mamata we need a more attacking mentality. Adhir's appointment will help increase Congress' aggression. It is I who proposed Adhir's name...But the change has come too late”, said outgoing PCC chief Pradip Bhattacharya.

The appointment of AICC General Secrtary Tanwar, a Dalit, a former Youth Congress and a team member of Rahul Gandhi, as Haryana PCC chief means Hooda’s grip on state PCC has been unshackled. Tanwar replaced Phulchand Mulana, a Hooda-handpicked Dalit leader. While the AICC has followed the line of reinforcing its considerable Dalit base in the state as a precaution against potential split in Jat vote during polls, Tanwar’s appointment, coming close on the heels of the appointment of Dalit leader Kumari Selja as AICC General Secretary, means a division of labour and balancing act in the anti-Hooda camp.

In Kerala VM Sudheeran, a senior and widely-popular Congress leader known for his clean image, was chosen as PCC chief by Rahul Gandhi by rejecting the opposition from the Ommen Chandy and Chennitha camps who had batted for G Karthikeyan. Sudheeran had the tactical support AK Antony, Chandy’s former mentor. His appointment is also seen as an attempt to do a religion and caste balancing act at a time the Left and BJP are accusing the UDF regime of being over-represented by minorities.