NEW DELHI: The Congress is mulling a major organisational reshuffle amid the buzz that Rahul Gandhi may come back as party chief. According to party sources, proposals for the appointment of new in-charges and changes in the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) in about a dozen states have been sent to interim party chief Sonia Gandhi. Changes are expected to be announced in the next few days, they added.
The states and Union Territories on the cards for organisational rejig include Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, and some northeastern states.
Sources claimed Rahul’s growing involvement in party affairs — participation in the “Bharat Bachao” rally at the Ramlila Maidan and the party’s satyagraha against Citizenship Amendment Act at Raj Ghat, and his efforts to visit families of those killed in anti-CAA protests in Meerut — is being read as signs of his possible comeback.
“The Congress president is expected to take a call on some of the proposed changes in the coming weeks,” a party source said.
In Karnataka, senior state and party troubleshooter D K Shivakumar has been pitching for the top post, which fell vacant after Dinesh Gundu Rao stepped down accepting the party’s humiliating defeat in the state by-polls last month.
A new face is also expected to replace Karnataka general secretary in-charge K C Venugopal, who has requested that he be relieved from the post as he is currently an AICC General Secretary with pan-India organisational responsibilities.
Changes are also expected in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due in 2021. The Congress is planning to constitute a new district and block-level committees there.