Cong 'war team' battle-ready, members dedicate to campaign

The AICC, which was reconstituted three days ago, has ensured that hardly any leader in the "war team" will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections or be tied down to any particular constituency .

With the Lok Sabha elections round the corner, the newly constituted Congress "war team" is now battle-ready to storm the party back to power.

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The AICC, which was reconstituted three days ago, has ensured that hardly any leader in the "war team" will be contesting the Lok Sabha elections or be tied down to any particular constituency as it will prepare broader strategy for the party, senior party leaders said.

Among the 22-member CWC, the highest decision-making body of the party, only a fraction of the leaders are from the Lok Sabha, including Congress President Sonia Gandhi and External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The majority, including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who will lead the party campaign, are from the Upper House.

Of the nine general secretaries, only Rahul Gandhi is expected to contest the polls from Amethi, a family pocket borough, and considered a cake walk for the youth leader. Gandhi will campaign aggressively in all parts of the country.

Six of the remaining eight general secretaries -- B K Hariprasad, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Janardan Dwivedi, Mohsina Kidwai, Prithviraj Chavan and V Narayanasamyare -- are Rajya Sabha members. Two others -- Digvijay Singh and Mukul Wasnik -- are not members of either House.