Rahul Gandhi not likely to join Cabinet

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi may not join the new Cabinet and instead focus on reviving the organisation across the country, said Congress leaders familiar with the situation, reports Aurangzeb Naqshbandi.

Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi may not join the new Cabinet and instead focus on reviving the organisation across the country.

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Congress leaders familiar with the situation told Hindustan Times that Rahul, 38, would prefer organisational work to a Cabinet berth.

“There is a lot of work to do on the organisational front. Rahul wants to devote maximum time to reviving the Congress across the country,” said a leader who did not want to be named. “Ministerial responsibilities will hamper the party work.”

While the issue has generated a lot of speculation in Congress circles, the Gandhi scion is also keeping his cards close to his chest.

“I have made up my mind and you will come to know about it shortly,” he said after the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) meeting on Tuesday.

The Congress leadership too seemed divided on Rahul’s joining the new government. While some favoured that he should continue to work for strengthening the party, another section is clamouring for his inclusion in the Cabinet, arguing that it would give him some experience of running the government.

The Congress general secretary in charge of Indian Youth Congress and National Students Union of India has overcome this pressure in the past also with ease.

That he wanted to concentrate on strengthening the party became evident when he declined Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s invitations to join his Cabinet on earlier occasions.

“I have tried in the past to persuade Rahul to join my cabinet …it’s still my wish to persuade him to do so,” Singh said on May 16 after the declaration of results of the 15th Lok Sabha elections.

However, it remains to be seen how long the Gandhi scion resists that pressure.