Congress organisational shake-up has leaders waiting

The appointment of former Lok Sabha MP Hamdullah Sayeed as Congress chief in Lakshadweep has set off a buzz of the awaited organisational shake-up in the party.

The appointment of former Lok Sabha MP Hamdullah Sayeed as Congress chief in Lakshadweep has set off a buzz of the awaited organisational shake-up in the party.

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The exercise for “expansive changes” had started immediately after Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi returned in April from a sabbatical.

After several rounds of discussions with party leaders, he is now in the process of finalising names. The changes would be carried out both at central and state levels.

Sources said some changes in the organisational structure are expected given that Rahul is keen to implement several suggestions he had received during deliberations. One such proposal is to increase the number of general secretaries and secretaries to enable office-bearers to devote maximum time to states under them.

Currently, Congress has 10 general secretaries and 38 secretaries. Each general secretary looks after at least two states, assisted by two secretaries. UP is the only state where the party has four secretaries in-charge of different zones.

If the proposal is accepted, the party could have 15-18 general secretaries and around 60 secretaries.

Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Tamil Nadu are other states where new faces could be brought in.