⁠Rahul and Priyanka vetted 130 leaders. Now Congress braces for a shake-up

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. (File Photo/Anil Sharma)

The Congress is set to inject fresh blood into its organisation, with the party preparing for a major reshuffle of AICC secretaries and likely to replace around half of its existing secretaries. Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have, along with AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, interviewed around 130 probable candidates for the posts over the past week.

Sources in the Congress said the Gandhi siblings will meet the existing AICC secretaries on Tuesday to review their performance and give them feedback. The meeting is also likely to precede the reshuffle, with around 50% of the secretaries expected to be relieved of their duties.

The group interviews, which began on September 7 were conducted with dossiers on each candidate. The dossier, sources said, contained details of their work and performance in the party organisation.

The Congress currently has 64 AICC secretaries, most of whom are assigned to different states, where they work under the respective AICC general secretaries or in-charges to oversee and assist the functioning of the state units. Some are also posted in key party offices in Delhi, including those of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Venugopal.

What the candidates were asked

A leader who appeared for the interview said candidates were interviewed in batches of 12-14, with the Gandhi siblings and Venugopal asking detailed questions about their work in the organisation.

“We were first asked to introduce ourselves in a minute or so. After that, Rahul ji, Priyanka ji and Venugopal ji asked us questions about our performance in the party. They asked us what we did in our roles, why we did things the way we did, how we contributed to the party, and where we fell short,” the leader said.

Another leader who appeared for the interview said candidates were also asked to respond to hypothetical situations, including how they would revive the party in a state where it had performed poorly or where elections were due.

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“They asked direct questions about how we would perform our duties if appointed as secretary of a particular state, and how we would deal with issues specific to that state. They also asked us about our past and told us to list the most remarkable performances in our political career,” the leader said.

Candidates were also questioned about the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan, the organisational overhaul being undertaken by the Congress across the country.

“They asked us how we feel about the approach of the Congress to overhaul its organisation under the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan,” another applicant said.

Sources in the AICC said that while around half of the existing secretaries are likely to be relieved of their duties, the exercise would also take into account those who have recently been assigned new responsibilities under the Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan or have been promoted within the organisation.

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“There are a handful of leaders, six or seven, who have been given new responsibilities in the last few weeks. They will obviously be relieved of their work as secretaries,” an AICC source said.

While the agenda for Tuesday’s meeting has not been formally informed to the secretaries, sources said the meeting is expected to focus on their performance and the organisational reshuffle being planned by the party.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More