Rahul rests Digvijay from all AICC roles

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service 

New Delhi, May 27

Veteran Congress man Digvijay Singh’s role in central Congress organisation ended today with party chief Rahul Gandhi divesting him of the charge of AICC general secretary incharge of Andhra Pradesh and appointing former Kerala Chief Minister Oomen Chandy in his place.

Digvijay Singh was earlier removed as party general secretary for Telangana, Karnataka and Goa.  Singh is now involved in party affairs in a limited way as chairman of the election coordination committee in poll-bound Madhya Pradesh. He has no AICC responsibility.

In another reshuffle, Gandhi has rested his confidant and senior leader CP Joshi as party general secretary for Bengal and Andaman and Nicobar Islands appointing young MP from Assam Gaurav Gogoi in his place. Gogoi is also the son of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. Joshi has been facing tremendous heat from Congress cadres in Bengal and Assam where the party has lost out electorally.

In Assam, the BJP wrested power from the Congress in last elections and in Bengal, the Congress finished fourth in the recent panchayat polls with the BJP emerging the main challenger to the ruling Mamata Banerjee-led TMC.

These transitions in the Congress are part of a slow and steady overhauling of the party organisation under Gandhi who is installing his own team across states and is revisiting old power equations. A certain coterie called the shots under his mother Sonia Gandhi as Congress chief. Sonia Gandhi was mostly status quoist in party affairs and would not easily punish people.

Gandhi is experimenting by disturbing the status quo while striking a balance between old and new leaders.

In MP for instance, Gandhi named veteran Kamal Nath as state chief when a younger Jyotiraditya Scindia was seen to be a favourite for the post. In Himachal, Gandhi just posted former Rajya Sabha MP Rajni Patil as state incharge relieving former minister Sushil Kumar Shinde as general secretary. 

To accompany Sonia for medical review

• Congress president Rahul Gandhi will accompany his mother Sonia Gandhi for her medical review abroad for a few days. They are expected to be back in a week, party sources said 
• The allocation of portfolios in Karnataka has been further delayed by a week till the return of the Gandhis. The JD (S) and Congress have been at loggerheads over key portfolios

Tweet

Will be out of India for a few days, accompanying Soniaji to her annual medical check-up. To my friends in the BJP social media troll army: Don’t get    too worked up...I’ll be back soon! Rahul Gandhi, Cong President