Cong plans organisational rejig, several ideas being discussed

New Delhi : The much delayed reshuffle in the Congress is scheduled to take place before June 30, and the party is also mulling the idea of appointing a vice president, informed sources said on Wednesday.

According to the sources, the changes are on the cards and will be announced soon after the first opposition meeting in Patna.

A party source said that in view of the reshuffling in the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision making body, a discussion is on to appoint a vice president.

The source said, however, a decision will be taken by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge.

Besides this, the source said that there are several changes on the cards in the CWC as several senior leaders are set to get promotion.

The source said that Rajiv Shukla, who played a crucial role for ensuring the victory in Himachal Pradesh Assembly polls as in-charge of the hill state will get the charge of another state.

Besides Shukla, senior party leader Ajay Maken, Mohan Prakash, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Nitin Raut, Ramesh Chennithalla and Suraj Hegde are also likely to bag bigger roles in the party.

The source said that senior party leaders like Tariq Anwar, Mukul Wasnik, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Jitendra Singh, Kumari Selja, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa will be able to hold their posts.

The source also revealed that many state unit chiefs are also likely to be changed in the next few days.

The source said that the state presidents of West Bengal, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are also likely to be changed.

At the party’s three-day plenary session that was held in Raipur from February 24 to 26, the Steering Committee had unanimously decided to authorise Kharge to nominate all members to the working committee (CWC) and thus election was not required for the party’s top decision making body.

The party during the Plenary Session had also decided to provide 50 per cent reservation for SC, ST, OBC, minorities, women, and youth below the age of 50 years in the CWC and also increase the members of the highest decision making body to 35.

The source said that Congress is also likely to give independent charge to many secretaries below the age of 50 years, as per the resolution passed at the party’s three-day Chintan Shivir held in Rajasthan’s Udaipur in May last year.

The reshuffling in the party is being made keeping in view the crucial Lok Sabha Polls scheduled next year.