THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With Rahul Gandhi expected to take over as the Congress president shortly, his first exercise will be to select the 14 DCC presidents in the State. It would be for the first time in India that Rahul Gandhi has initiated a collective leadership of the KPCC in selecting the DCC presidents with several rounds of deliberations. If it’s a success, this initiative will be replicated by the AICC leadership across the country. Though AICC general secretary and secretary in charge of the State, Mukul Wasnik and Dipak Babaria respectively, had held talks with a plethora of Congress leaders over two days in the capital city last week, their report and recommendations are yet to be submitted before Rahul Gandhi.
KPCC leaders feel that the final list of DCC presidents is most likely to be announced only by the end of this month. Since the Parliament session is starting on November 16, it is reliably learnt that Rahul Gandhi is keen to hold talks with all the Congress MPs. It should be recalled that during his earlier exercise immediately after the Assembly poll debacle, he had initiated detailed discussions with 87 Congress leaders from the State. “It was after this first detailed exercise that the recommendation to have a 21-member High Power Committee was appointed. Initially it was known that the final list of DCC presidents would be announced by November 10. But now it is most likely to be announced only later by this month end”, said a senior Congress leader to DC.
Reports from New Delhi reveal that the AICC team got several complaints regarding the list of names recommended by the KPCC leadership with some of them not having public acceptance and some not even able to give a speech. With several dozens of Congress leaders who are DCC president aspirants holding unofficial talks with the two central leaders, it is a tough battle for them to streamline the final list. But in all likelihood, Rahul Gandhi will be turning to senior Congress leader A. K. Antony for the final word on the list of DCC presidents.
