Hyderabad: AICC president Rahul Gandhi’s proposal to ban Congress district and state unit presidents from contesting elections has come as a nasty New Year’s gift.
Mr Gandhi’s proposal that presidents of the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCC) and district Congress Committees (DCC) must confine themselves to party coordination has irked leaders who expect to contest the Parliamentary and Assembly elections.
Mr Gandhi spelled out his proposal during a review meeting with returning officers of the Congress elections two days ago in Delhi, and sought their suggestions.
He told them that during his campaign for the Gujarat elections, he found the local Congress chiefs not coordinating party affairs and confining themselves to campaigning in their respective Assembly segments,
He reportedly observed that had there been better coordination from the PCC and DCCs, the Congress would have won 10 seats more.
Mr Gandhi had first mooted the proposal when he took over as party vice-president two years ago but dropped it amid much opposition. He is reviving it as party president, with the good show in Gujarat to back him up.
All DCC chief and the two PCC presidents in the Telugu states want to be in the fray. Mr N. Uttam Kumar Reddy is a four-time MLA from Kodada and Huzurnagar, and expects to become Chief Minister.
“It is was a fact that Mr Gandhi made these observations. Time will tell if a decision will be taken,” said a leader who attended the meeting.
Rahul praises RSS model
Congress president Rahul Gandhi reportedly said that the RSS-BJP way of functioning and coordination, especially during election time, appeared impressive.
The Congress needed to bring certain guidelines for better coordination, he told a meeting of returning officers of party elections earlier this week.
The BJP has following the system for long. It is also mandatory that a senior RSS leader is appointed organising secretary to all BJP committees and takes care of coordination aspects.
