Youth Cong leaders' selection to be made more democratic

Henceforth, the Youth Congress workers will have to become leaders on their own rather than encashing on political backgrounds or money clout.

Henceforth, the Youth Congress workers will have to become leaders on their own rather than encashing on political backgrounds or money clout.

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Concerned about the dominance of money power and nepotism in the Youth Congress, Rahul Gandhi has effected major changes in the election process of the organisation.

The new election model introduced recently seeks to break the trend of political scions and those with sound financial background getting plum posts in the wing.

According to the new model, members aged between 18 and 35 will elect a five-member committee in each booth.

These booth-level committees will in turn elect 10-member committees each at three levels - legislative assembly, Lok Sabha and the state.

"This has resulted in a significant increase in the electoral college, making it difficult to influence the voter with money or muscle power. Some even used intimidating tactics to win elections… This will come to an end," a Youth Congress leader said.

Gandhi had started the democratisation process in the Youth Congress with elections in Punjab in 2008. Since then, organisational elections have been held in 17 states and some union territories but with a relatively small electoral college.

Now, this is set to increase manifold. In Karnataka, which has 224 assembly constituencies and 47,000 booths, the 2,31,355-strong booth committees will form the electoral college for the three-tier polls.

"It is not only difficult but impossible to influence such large number of voters. The new model gives an equal opportunity for youth from across the strata to establish themselves in the political landscape of the nation," another leader said.