The party appointed former minister Mohinder Singh Kaypee as the working president of the party in Punjab in keeping with its strategy to keep a balance between various castes and regions.
The announcements were made today as part of organisational revamp at the AICC and some state units. The party also announced new PCC chiefs for Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and
Uttarakhand.
Bhattal, who is the CLP leader at present, has been regularly meeting central leaders for the past several months and stressing the need to maintain regional and caste balance in the state in
appointing the new PCC chief. Bhattal hails from the Malwa region
while Kaypee, who belongs to the Dalit community, is from Doaba. Kaypee enjoys good equation with all senior leaders of the state. He had lost his seat during the last Assembly poll.
During her visits to the Capital, Bhattal has also been highlighting the alleged atrocities of the SAD-led government against the party workers. The party would appoint a new CLP leader in her place with the choice likely to rest on a candidate from the state’s main minority community.
The announcement of new PCC chief came as a disappointment to the supporters of former MP Jagmeet Singh Brar, who were hoping that their leader would make the grade this time. Brar, who seemed hopeful of his prospects to head the state unit, retains his position as a special invitee to the Congress Working Committee.
The central leadership remained tight-lipped about the reasons Brar not having been favoured for the top organisational responsibility in the state. However, sources said the high command was wary of factionalism rearing its head again in the state unit as Brar’s candidature was being opposed by some leaders close to former Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. The former Chief Minister had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi last week to convey his views on the choice of PCC chief. The sources said Bhattal too was not keen on Brar becoming the PCC chief.
Bhattal replaces Shamsher Singh Dullo, who had resigned as PCC chief after the party lost power in the last Assembly poll. Though Dullo’s resignation had been accepted, he was asked to continue till a fresh appointment was made.
Some Punjab Congress leaders expressed surprise at the time taken by the leadership arrive at the decision to move CLP leader as PCC chief. “This should not have taken seven months. It is old wine in old bottle and does not reflect deep thinking,” a party leader from Punjab said. AICC leaders said Bhattal was the best possible choice in the present conditions.
Observers here said the real test of the PCC chief would be in enthusing the party workers and galvanising the masses against the SAD-BJP government in view of the possibility of an early Lok Sabha election.
Bhattal has been a PCC chief before for a brief period and her new tenure coincides with the AICC announcing a new general secretary in charge of the state. Margret Alva has been given the charge of both Haryana and Punjab, besides Maharashtra and three states from the northeast.
Two other leaders from Punjab, Manish Tiwari and Iqbal Singh, continue to retain their positions as AICC secretaries.
The three other PCC chiefs appointed today include Rita Bahuguna of Uttar Pradesh, Yashpal Arya of Uttarakhand and C.P. Joshi of Rajasthan. Parsaram Mordia, a Dalit, has been appointed the working president of the Rajasthan PCC.
The expected change in Uttar Pradesh came on the day party MP from Amethi Rahul Gandhi was made a AICC general secretary. Rita Bahuguna, who unsuccessfully contested the last Assembly poll, is considered a leader with wide political experience at the
grass-roots level. She replaces Salman Khursheed, who has been made a member of the party’s manifesto committee and the group to look into future challenges.
Sources said in Rajasthan both new appointees were considered close to former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who is AICC general secretary. In Uttarakhand, the Congress was looking for a replacement of Harish Rawat who had completed his tenure and had given his resignation after the party lost the last Assembly poll in the state.
