Rahul associates get key Congress responsibilities

Congress on Saturday appointed Deepak Babaria, a senior Gujarat leader and Rahul Gandhi confidant, as the AICC General Secretary in-charge of Madhya Pradesh and thus in the process, divested Mohan Prakash of the charge of the poll-bound state.

In another key appointment, first term Lok Sabha member from Assam Sushmita Dev was named as the President of the All India Mahila Congress. She succeeds Shobha Oza, a prominent leader from Madhya Pradesh.

Babaria, a founder General Secretary of the National Students Union of India, the students’ wing of the Congress, will be assisted by two AICC Secretaries – Zubair Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. Dev, the daughter of former Union Minister late Santosh Mohan Dev, is an active participant in the Lok Sabha debates and her campaign for the removal of GST on sanitary napkins had received massive support.

The 44-year-old Dev is a lawyer and has also been a member of the Assam Legislative Assembly. Dev has risen through the ranks fairly quickly donning responsibilities of AICC spokesperson, a member of the Communications Strategy Group that advises the Congress on media strategies.

Prakash’s ouster was on the cards as the AICC had received complaints about his style of functioning and his inability to revive the Congress in Madhya Pradesh. Congress has been out of power in the state since 2003 and has been locked in a fierce factional fight which Prakash was unable to resolve.

Prakash continues to be AICC General Secretary in-charge of Maharashtra. Congress is also expected to announce a new President for the Madhya Pradesh Congress where Rahul’s choice Arun Yadav has been unable to perform as per the expectations of the high command. Senior leader Kamal Nath and Jyotiraditya Scindia are in the race to be appointed as the state unit chief.