Suresh Pachauri may head Cong in MP, Ravi Mallu in AP
Minister of state for personnel and parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachauri has emerged as the front-runner to replace Madhya Pradesh PCC chief Subhash Yadav.
By C L Manoj, TNN |
NEW DELHI: The Congress leadership is set to revamp the Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh units. Minister of state for personnel and parliamentary affairs Suresh Pachauri has emerged as the front-runner to replace Madhya Pradesh PCC chief Subhash Yadav, while Dr Ravi Mallu is learnt to be ahead of P Lakshmaniah in the race to head the Andhra Pradesh state Congress.
Party sources said the leadership thinks Mr Pachauri, a 10 Janpath loyalist, is the most suitable leader to head the state Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due later this year. He may also continue as the minister at the Centre at least till his Rajya Sabha term ends in April.
Though Lok Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia’s name is also under active consideration for party post in MP, sources said Mr Pachauri’s seniority and his Brahmin identity could tilt the balance in his favour. In the event of he taking over as the head of the state Congress unit, sources see the possibility of Mr Scindia getting a berth in the Union council of ministers.
With former chief minister Digvijay Singh not interested in heading the state PCC again, party sources say the Congress leadership is keen to project a Brahmin leader as party chief at the poll-bound state for more than one reasons. While it will be a clear attempt to woo the sizeable Brahamin population in the BJP-ruled state, the leadership is also keen to resist the attempts of the BSP to make inroads in the state ahead of the elections.
A Brahmin PCC chief and a tribal CLP leader (Jamuna Devi), the leadership thinks, could be an electorally productive social combination in the state. Incidentally, after the exit of N D Tiwari as the Uttarakhand chief minister, the Congress does not have a projected Brahmin leadership in the northern states.
In Andhra Pradesh, where the top PCC post remains vacant for the past couple of months following the resignation of Keshava Rao in the wake of his son getting involved in a murder case, the race is between former MP Ravi Mallu and state irrigation minister P Laskhsmaiah.
Though both the leaders are known to share a good rapport with chief minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, party sources say Mr Mallu, presently the special representative of the state government in Delhi with Cabinet rank, stands a better chance, thanks to his Dalit identity. The Dalit-OBC segments account for over 40% of the state population. Andhra Pradesh goes to elections next year.
The leadership is also planning to appoint a new party chief for the West Bengal PCC. I&B minister P R Dasmunsi has been widely perceived as the most likely candidate to succeed Pranab Mukherjee who has expressed his desire to quit the post.
Party sources said the leadership thinks Mr Pachauri, a 10 Janpath loyalist, is the most suitable leader to head the state Congress in Madhya Pradesh, where Assembly polls are due later this year. He may also continue as the minister at the Centre at least till his Rajya Sabha term ends in April.
Though Lok Sabha member Jyotiraditya Scindia’s name is also under active consideration for party post in MP, sources said Mr Pachauri’s seniority and his Brahmin identity could tilt the balance in his favour. In the event of he taking over as the head of the state Congress unit, sources see the possibility of Mr Scindia getting a berth in the Union council of ministers.
With former chief minister Digvijay Singh not interested in heading the state PCC again, party sources say the Congress leadership is keen to project a Brahmin leader as party chief at the poll-bound state for more than one reasons. While it will be a clear attempt to woo the sizeable Brahamin population in the BJP-ruled state, the leadership is also keen to resist the attempts of the BSP to make inroads in the state ahead of the elections.
A Brahmin PCC chief and a tribal CLP leader (Jamuna Devi), the leadership thinks, could be an electorally productive social combination in the state. Incidentally, after the exit of N D Tiwari as the Uttarakhand chief minister, the Congress does not have a projected Brahmin leadership in the northern states.
In Andhra Pradesh, where the top PCC post remains vacant for the past couple of months following the resignation of Keshava Rao in the wake of his son getting involved in a murder case, the race is between former MP Ravi Mallu and state irrigation minister P Laskhsmaiah.
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Though both the leaders are known to share a good rapport with chief minister Y S Rajashekhara Reddy, party sources say Mr Mallu, presently the special representative of the state government in Delhi with Cabinet rank, stands a better chance, thanks to his Dalit identity. The Dalit-OBC segments account for over 40% of the state population. Andhra Pradesh goes to elections next year.
The leadership is also planning to appoint a new party chief for the West Bengal PCC. I&B minister P R Dasmunsi has been widely perceived as the most likely candidate to succeed Pranab Mukherjee who has expressed his desire to quit the post.
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