Congress reshuffle on cards soon

With the replacement of two state chiefs last week and few more in the offing, the stage is set for a major overhaul in the Congress at the national level. Aurangzeb Naqshbandi reports. Major overhaul

With the replacement of two state chiefs last week and few more in the offing, the stage is set for a major overhaul in the Congress at the national level.

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Congress sources said it was only "a matter of time" before a new team would be announced.

"The high command will decide the timing of the announcements," a senior leader said.

The changes are widely expected to be effected keeping in mind the next Lok Sabha elections, scheduled for 2014.Those in the line of fire are Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Gulchain Singh Charak, who is in-charge of party affairs in Punjab and Bihar.

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Charak is facing flak for the party's defeat in Punjab where all opinion and exit polls had predicted an easy victory for the Congress over the Akali Dal.

The axe is also likely to fall on another CWC member and in-charge of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya Dhani Ram Shandil since he has been made a minister in the Himachal Pradesh government.

Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand chiefs Botcha Satyanarayana and Yashpal Arya are set to be replaced since they are also ministers in their states.

The race is between Gobind Singh Kunjwal and Pritam Singh in Uttarakhand, Mallu Ravi, D Srinivas and Kanna Laxmi Narayana are the strong contenders in Andhra Pradesh.