Twitter
Advertisement

New president on anvil, Youth Congress eyes expansion

The Youth Congress, traditionally a ground force of youth leaders, is going to have a professional back-end team in the run-up to the 2019 General Assembly elections.

Latest News
article-main
Congress leader Ashok Gehlot
FacebookTwitterWhatsappLinkedin

While the search for a young leader to head the Youth Congress is in final stages and has boiled down to four contenders now, the wing is going through an expansion. The Youth Congress, traditionally a ground force of youth leaders, is going to have a professional back-end team in the run-up to the 2019 General Assembly elections.

Sources in the party said that the youth outfit is in talks with young professionals who have some experience in political strategising. The team, which will be a small-knit one, will help the Youth Congress with strategies in the coming year. The move is taken to firm up the outfit ahead of 2019 elections, but leaders involved in the process are clear that the professional team will act as a research and strategy unit, working behind the shadows, as the youth leaders lead from the front, some of who traditionally go on to be prominent faces inside the party.

As part of the changes, the party is also in the process of looking for a new president, the search for which began in early April, when Rahul Gandhi asked current president Amarinder Singh Raja to step down. Sources said that he was not too pleased with Raja's style of functioning, who has been at the helm of the organisation for three years now. The decision now lies with Congress president Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Ashok Gehlot.

A panel of interviewers were set up as the search committee in the first week of April, and 24 youth leaders of the party from across the country were interviewed. The panel comprised of Rahul aide Sachin Rao who manages Youth Congress and NSUI, AICC secretary and Gujarat in-charge Rajeev Satav, another Gandhi aide, Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in-charge Krishna Allavaru, former Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in-charge Suraj Hegde as well as Mahila Congress president Sushmita Dev.

In all, 24 leaders were interviewed, including some former NSUI presidents as well as former general secretaries of the Youth Congress, who met the criteria. After the panel interviewed the young leaders, they were asked to hand out three names each to Gandhi and Gehlot. After the first round, Gandhi and Gehlot met with over 14 leaders that made the cut. It is now up to Gandhi to declare the president.

A source in the know said that it is highly likely that the leadership will give former NSUI presidents a miss, narrowing down the choices to four at this point of time. Some of the youth leaders come from states as varied as Telangana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, etc.

Interview process

  • A panel was set up to interview candidates for the post of new head of the Youth Congress.
  • They were asked to submit 3 names each to Rahul Gandhi and Ashok Gehlot after interviews.
Find your daily dose of news & explainers in your WhatsApp. Stay updated, Stay informed-  Follow DNA on WhatsApp.
Advertisement

Live tv

Advertisement
Advertisement