On the birthday of former Prime Minister and congressman Rajiv Gandhi, the long-standing major party today announced the names of members of the party’s top decision-making body. Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan’s sulky leader, has secured a seat on the Parliament’s workings committee ahead of the state’s parliamentary elections later this year. The party has been trying to placate Rajasthan’s former deputy premier, who recently publicly humiliated his own government in the state ruled by his arch-enemy Ashok Gehlot.
Sachin pilots, Shashi Tharoor (who went up against Mallikarjun Kharge in last year’s Parliament Speaker poll), Deepa Das Munshi and Syed Nasser Hussain are newcomers to the CWC.
Ms. Das Munshi is a former MP from West Bengal and the wife of former Parliament leader and former Union minister, the late Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Ms. Hussain is a member of the Rajya Sabha, who previously served as the Parliamentary Communications Commissioner.
Sources say Mr Pilot is likely to be appointed head of a major country.
In addition to Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma, another signer of the letter written by the G-23 group calling for reforms within the party by 2020, has found a place in the party’s leadership.
Earlier this year, the party’s general secretary (organization), KC Venugopal, said half of the party’s leaders must be under the age of 50. Only three of the 39 members of CWC are under the age of 50 – Sachin Pilot, Gourav Gogoi and Kamaleshwar Patel. Sources say Congress Secretary-General Priyanka Gandhi, who is in charge of Uttar Pradesh state, is unlikely to be appointed head of state.
