Rahul brigade moves onto centre stage

New Delhi: After Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan, it was the turn of Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot to be drafted for party work. While Jayanthi is yet to get a plum assignment in the party organization, Pilot was named as the Rajasthan PCC President, after the drubbing of the party in the just-concluded Assembly polls. Another young leader, Arun Yadav, son of former Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Subhash Yadav, was also appointed as the PCC President of Madhya Pradesh on Monday.

Sources stated that Congress Prime Ministerial candidate Rahul Gandhi is all set to appoint young faces in the organisation that would go a long way to rejuvenate the party. His B-Team, which was so far working behind the scenes, may soon be brought to the forefront, to counter the AAP effect and the Modi blitzkrieg. Rahul, himself, for that matter, is expected to lead from the front, as keeping silent at this juncture could cost him his seat in Amethi. At a time when AAP representatives like Kumar Vishwas, new to politics, have started challenging him on his hometurf, Rahul Gandhi cannot afford to remain a silent spectator.

As per indications, Rahul Gandhi will be named as the Congress PM candidate at the AICC Session slated for January 17, taking on the challenge of not just Kumar Vishwas but also of the BJP and the AAP, nationwide. With his sister, Priyanka Vadra, taking the responsibility of managing his constituency of Amethi and of her mother in Rae Bareli, Rahul Gandhi will be free to campaign all-over the country for the party. Priyanka will be at his side, assisting him and Sonia in chalking out their campaign schedule.

After having constituted the AICC Screening Committees for the selection of Congress candidates, Rahul Gandhi has now set his sights on the party organization. Besides Sachin Pilot and Jayanthi Natarajan, young Ministers like R P N Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitendra Singh will also be brought into the organization for party work.

It is no secret that Rahul Gandhi already has his team in the AICC that is working behind the scenes. His team comprises of former bureaucrat K Raju, who quit his job to join the Rahul Gandhi core team. As AICC SC Cell Chairman, K Raju is working closely with Congress Vice- President on the strategy to win over the Dalits, that were associated with the party for a longtime but now weaned away by the BSP. Similarly, G Mohan Gopal, is his another confidante, who is having a Law Degree from Harvard and is at present Director of Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Contemporary Studies. He is also a special invitee to the AICC Manifesto and Government programmes. Others like Sachin Rao from Social Sector background and Alankar Sawai, a finance expert, having worked with ICICI Credit Card division, look after Youth Congress affairs. Kaushal Vidyarthi, with D Phil from Oxford University is working on poverty reduction programmes like Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana.

After being routed in the four crucial States of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Delhi, Rahul Gandhi is busy reworking his election strategy to take-on his opponents, who have already written him off. His coterie is all set to come with a bang, in the hope that where the fledgling party, AAP, is fearing to tread, the 128-year-old party has already made its mark.