Chased by scams, Sonia rejigs CWC

Madhusudan replaces Azad as Karnataka in-charge

She reconstituted the Congress Working Committee – the party’s highest decision making body – and appointed the new team of the AICC general secretaries and secretaries.

Rahul Gandhi, as expected, was retained as a member of the CWC. He would continue to oversee the affairs of the Youth Congress and National Students Union of India.

Ghulam Nabi Azad was replaced by former Lok Sabha member Madhusudan Mistry as the All India Congress Committee general secretary in charge of overseeing the party’s affairs in Karnataka. Azad, in charge of the Congress in Karnataka since February 2009, will continue to look after the party in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, but has been relieved of Orissa.

He got the additional assignment of overseeing the Congress’ affairs in Andhra Pradesh, where the party – despite being in power – found itself in trouble in the wake of Y S Rajasekhara Reddy’s death, his son Y S Jaganmohan Reddy’s rebellion and the growing clamour for Telangana.

Mistry, a Congress veteran from Gujarat, was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha, but failed to get re-elected in 2009.

Sanjay Nirupam, the party’s MP from Mumbai North, has been appointed as the AICC secretary to be attached with Mistry. Apart from Karnataka, they will also look after the party’s affairs in Lakshadweep and in Left Democratic Front-ruled Kerala, where Assembly polls are slated to be held next month.

She also appointed a new party official to look after organisational affairs of another poll-bound state, West Bengal. Shakeel Ahmed, one of the new permanent invitees of the CWC, replaced K Keshava Rao as in charge of the Congress’ affairs in the eastern state.

Keshava Rao of late drew the ire of the Congress high-command, as he was seen at the forefront of the party MPs clamouring for Telangana and adding to the unease of the party in Andhra Pradesh.

Another senior Andhra Pradesh leader G Venkataswamy, who recently criticised Gandhi, was also dropped from the CWC. So was Kishore Chandra Deo.

None from Andhra Pradesh found a place among the 19 members and 17 permanent invitees of the CWC. The Indian National Trade Union Congress chief G Sanjeeva Reddy, who is from Andhra Pradesh, however has been inducted into the body as one of the five special invitees.

Two AICC spokespersons – Ahmed and Mohan Prakash – emerged as the biggest gainers, as both of them were inducted as permanent invitees and given key assignments. Prakash was made in charge of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir. Defence Minister A K Antony was relieved of the responsibility of looking after the party’s organisational matters in Maharashtra.

Antony will continue to be a member of the CWC. So will Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Home Minister P Chidambaram was retained as a permanent invitee in the body.

Motilal Vora, a CWC member and AICC treasurer, will be in charge of Gujarat. Digvijay Singh will continue to be the AICC general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, where the party is trying to revive itself. He will also look after Assam.

Veteran leader Mohsina Kidwai, who looked after Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Chandigarh and Lakshadweep, was relieved of all her responsibilities. She will however continue to be in charge of Mahila Congress as a permanent invitee of the CWC.