Gujarat Congress is in disarray. looking for a new incharge
By Abdulhafiz Lakhani Ahmedabad
Gujarat is heading for assembly elections in December 2022 and with hardly 16 to 17 months left to prepare, the Congress party has started searching for the right person to appoint as Gujarat Incharge.
For the Congress, there is a sense of urgency to appoint a general secretary in Gujarat as the party is in complete disarray. A combination of defeats and defections has reduced the Congress tally from 77 to 65 in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly.
The new leader will need to supervise the state organisation, prepare elections strategy, while working on the ground with the cadres.
Not only this, Rahul Gandhi will be focusing on the Gujarat elections like he did in 2017. Sources said he would spend quality time campaigning in the State. And he would prefer a leader who gives him the right feedback from ground zero.
After the sudden demise of Gujarat Incharge Rajiv Satav, the party high command is seriously considering a few names for the post.
Party sources told that earlier the leadership had decided on Sachin Pilot or B K Hariprasad but Pilot has informed the high command that he would prefer to focus on Rajasthan.
Incidentally, in March 2022, Sonia Gandhi had asked Sachin Pilot, the then Rajasthan deputy chief minister, to hold the Congress flock in Gujarat together. Sachin Pilot had met the disgruntled Congress MLAs from Gujarat in Jaipur’s Shiv Vilas hotel ahead of a crucial Rajya Sabha election. Sonia Gandhi’s move to rely on Sachin Pilot for Gujarat Congress crisis was considered significant because it had come shortly after Jyotiraditya Scindia’s exit from the Madhya Pradesh Congress, costing Kamal Nath government and a Rajya Sabha seat.
Sachin Pliot’s youthfulness, acumen, oratory skills, energy and ability to blend complex caste matrix scores over other contenders. A closer look would reveal another game plan. If Pilot is given a role outside Rajasthan, the ongoing political crisis would get resolved on its own.
The party is also considering Mukul Wasnik and Mohan Prakash. Before it takes the final call, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has suggested the name of Maharashtra leader Avinash Pandey, who has been Rajasthan incharge in the past.
Mukul Wasnik was Gujarat incharge from 2000 till 2005, B K Hariprasad from 2006 to 2010 and Mohan Prakash was from 2010 to 2012.
Avinash Pandey has been incharge of NSUI and Youth Congress. So all four have connections with state leaders, and will not feel like playingon an unknown pitch.
Sources said if Avinash Pandey is made in-charge, he will benefit enormously from Gehlot’s Gujarat experience when he was the In-charge in 2017 elections and Congress won 77 seats, its highest so far in the past 32 years in the state. BJP nosedived to 99 then.
Mukul Wasnik has worked with the state leaders as Youth Congress leader too and is well aware about each state leader’s strengths and weaknesses. This can help him to make the right decisions while assigning work to leaders and during distribution of party tickets.
Mohan Prakash has a labour union leader spirit and is a very vocal leader. This could help boost the morales of the party cadres.
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Abdulhafiz Lakhani
Ahmedabad GUJARAT,India
