Rahul Gandhi may be taking a plunge into active party work and occupying a place in party hierarchy ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
NEW DELHI: Rahul Gandhi may be taking a plunge into active party work and occupying a place in party hierarchy ahead of the crucial Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections.
This is the feedback of top Congress circles which insist that there are chances for the MP from Amethi to be made AICC General Secretary sooner than later.
In fact, the 36-year old heir-apparent of the Nehru-Gandhi family had in the Hyderabad Congress Plenary expressed readiness to lead the battle in the key state of the Hindi heartland.
The feedback from party circles about Rahul coming out of his dilemma has come soon after his mother openly declared that she was always too happy to include him in the party or the government.
Gandhi dropped enough hints at the recent Hindustan Times Leadership Summit that her son has to make up his mind whether to opt for the organisation or the Government.
"I am always too happy to include him either in the party or the government. But it is for him to decide," Gandhi had said when asked whether Rahul will get some challenging post in the AICC reshuffle, which appears imminent.
An inkling of the shape of things to come could be gauged from the fact that the young leader is extensively meeting partymen in the state to get feedback from various districts to feel the pulse of the people, especially after the outcome of the civic polls.
Gandhi's remarks at the Summit that the position of Congress was not that bad in Uttar Pradesh and it could spring surprises were indications enough that the party chief wanted to leave no stone unturned in the crucial state.
There have been strong demands from rank and file that she should draft her son for organisational work. The demands had reached a crescendo at the Hyderabad plenary in Jaunary when Rahul had himself expressed readiness to lead the party in UP if the leadership so directed.
UPCC chief Salman Khurshid has hailed Rahul as the face of Congress in the state, while several other leaders including AICC General Secretary and UP in-charge Ashok Gehlot said his role should not be limited to any particular state.
Several Congress leaders wanted him to be made AICC General Secretary, a route taken by Rajiv Gandhi.
Another section wants him to follow Indira Gandhi who became a junior minister in the Lal Bahadur Shastri government which will enable a safe landing for him in the rough and tumble of politics. This section feels that the ministry was better suited for the young Gandhi as Congress was no longer in a commanding position politically and was part of a coalition.
Though the party president made it clear some time back that the younger MPs would have to wait for ministerial berths, the refrain in party circles was that the rule was not applicable to Rahul, who, they say, is a leader in his own right.
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