New MPCC in-charge has his task cut out

THE NEW All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of party affairs for MP, V Narayansami, who is scheduled to arrive here on his maiden visit to the State on February 11, has his task cut out for him. The first obvious challenge is language.

THE NEW All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of party affairs for MP, V Narayansami, who is scheduled to arrive here on his maiden visit to the State on February 11, has his task cut out for him. The first obvious challenge is language.

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But that’s a minor one, considering the state of affairs in the MPCC. His real challenge is to do what his more high-profile predecessors failed at — injecting dynamism in the MPCC.

Mukul Vasnik and Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi, despite their fabulous networking in Delhi and familiarity with State’s top party leaders failed in the task.

The organisation, right from State to block level, is in disarray. No formula seems to be working to bring a semblance of cohesion and purposefulness in the MPCC working. Against this rather depressing backdrop, the new in-charge Narayansami is arriving at Bhopal on February 11.

Ahead of his arrival, there is again optimism among sincere party leaders and workers that he might have some formula to sort out problems in the State party organisation. Narayansami, a Rajya Sabha member from Pondicherry, is an old hand in Congress organisation. He had also been AICC secretary before his nomination as general secretary.

But all along he has kept a low profile. He was also a combative trade union leader in INTUC. Now Congressmen wonder how effective he could be in a State, which has five Union ministers and an AICC general secretary to adjust with.

Some obvious problems the new general secretary has to deal with are: the PCC is awaiting reconstitution; differences among top leaders persist; organisational elections could not take place despite all the efforts of Pradesh Returning Officer (PRO) H Hanumanthappa; and PCC chief is far from assertive, if not downright disinterested. Moreover, the ‘reward’ to Hanumanthappa for his sincere efforts at organisational election will also haunt the in-charge general secretary.

The PRO had come to MP roaring but went back humbled and humiliated by the party workers. Narayansami will also have to cope with others disadvantages. Like, he is not so well known in the Congress in this part of the country. He might face problems in communicating with the grassroots party leaders and he will have a PCC at his disposal where either the office-bearers do not come to office or, if they do, most do not see eye to eye each other.

Still, Narayansami has plans to meet everyone in the State Congress during his two-day stay in Bhopal on February 11 and 12.

They include District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents, BCC presidents, PCC delegates and office-bearers, office-bearers and activists of party’s frontal organisations- Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, NSUI and Seva Dal and whosoever desires to meet him. On the third day of his visit on February 13, he would visit Vidisha and interact with party workers there.

May be, such extensive interaction with party workers will give him an idea of intricacies of his assignments in MP.