Second-rung Cong leaders push for power pie in party ladder

NEW DELHI: With the Congress nearly touching its 1991 highs in the Lok Sabha elections, party members are hopeful of getting a share of the fruits of power. Nowhere is this expectation higher than among AICC���s second rung of the leadership. This group is also hoping that as the Congress begins to pay greater attention on building its organisation, their role and responsibility in the party will increase.

With talks of an organisational reshuffle, many in the Congress leadership are hopeful that the party will strictly adhere to the ���one man one post��� principle. This would free as many as four general secretary posts, allowing for the long pending promotion of several secretaries.

Sources said that there are as many as eight secretaries currently serving in the AICC who are due for a promotion to general secretary. These include persons like Mirza Irshad Beg, Imran Kidwai, R C Khuntia, Praveen Davar, Mabel Rebello, Nirmal Khatri and Jai Kishen. Many of them have been in their current capacity since the mid eighties and some of them have been part of the party���s youth wing ��� the Indian Youth Congress.

There is also a feeling that some of their cohorts have been given a bigger role in the party despite the lack of organisational experience.

Sources indicated that there appears to be an unwillingness on the part of senior leaders to let go of their party responsibilities even though they have been given ministerial positions in government. For those who have been stuck in secondary organisational roles, their ���only hope��� appears to be Rahul Gandhi, and his emphasis on building the organisation. ���With Rahul Gandhi talking of building the organisation, there is a hope in the party that senior leaders who have remained at the level of secretary for almost two decades now will get a chance to play a bigger role,��� an AICC functionary said.