Politicians’ kin vie for plum positions in Indian Youth Congress polls

The internal elections to the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Maharashtra have yet again seen the dominance of dynastic politics, with the kin of established leaders vying for organisational positions

They were launched over a decade ago as an ambitious exercise to bring in much-needed internal democracy in the organisation and give a leg-up to young blood in the ranks. However, the internal elections to the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) in Maharashtra have yet again seen the dominance of dynastic politics, with the kin of established leaders vying for organisational positions.

Politicians’ kin vie for plum positions in IYC polls (Sourced)

Kunal Raut, the son of state energy minister Nitin Raut, is contesting for the position of president, and so is Sharan Patil, the son of former minister and incumbent Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) working president Basavraj Patil. Also in the contest is Aniket, the son of former Navi Mumbai deputy mayor Ramakant Mhatre. Mhatre is a supporter of public works department (PWD) minister Ashok Chavan and minister of state Vishwajeet Kadam.

Shivani, daughter of minister Vijay Wadettiwar and Abhijit Chavan, grandson of former minister Madhukarrao Chavan; are in contention for the general secretary’s post.

The election process - which includes nominations, enrollment of voters, and polling - was launched on November 12 and will be completed on December 12. This is being done through an online, app-based system. So far, over 1.4 million voters have been enrolled.

In a break from convention - where the party leadership nominated office-bearers of the IYC and National Students Union of India (NSUI) - the Congress in 2008 launched internal elections at the behest of senior leader Rahul Gandhi.

Since 2011, the internal elections in Maharashtra have seen Vishwajeet Kadam, the son of former minister (late) Patangrao Kadam, being elected as president for two successive three-year terms. While Satyajit Tambe, the nephew of revenue minister Balasaheb Thorat, is the present IYC Maharashtra president. He defeated Amit, the son of former minister Subhash Zanak, and Kunal Raut. Zanak, an MLA from Risod, and Kunal were appointed as vice-presidents. These polls saw allegations of rigging.

Other nominees in the fray have alleged that established leaders are using the machinery and resources at their disposal. “The elections were launched to ensure that youngsters from common families can enter politics. However, the motive has been hijacked by the kin of politicians who are at times misusing the official machinery to enroll voters from educational institutions and exercise their franchise in bulk,” said an aspiring candidate.

However, Sharan, the leader of the opposition in the Osmanabad zilla parishad (ZP) and district Youth Congress chief, said that he is committed to strengthening the organisation and promoting fresh blood. “We are elected because the people support us… (however) the organisation also includes youth who lack a political background, but are doing good work,” he said, when asked about the charges of dynastic politics.

Meanwhile, Kunal Banerjee, who is the election commissioner for these polls, said that he has not received any formal complaints about such malpractices thus far. He added that the results of the polls are likely to be announced early next year. The three candidates garnering the highest number of votes for the position of president will be interviewed by the IYC leadership and one of them will be selected as the president, with the other two being appointed vice-presidents.

So far, three politicians from Maharashtra have helmed the IYC nationally, namely, Gurudas Kamat (1987 to 1988), Mukul Wasnik (1988 to 1990), and Rajiv Satav (2010 to 2014).