Before leaving for a four-day tour of London and Berlin to interact with the Indian diaspora, business and political leaders, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday announced important changes in the party structure, including the appointment of senior leader Ahmed Patel as the party treasurer.
Before leaving for a four-day tour of London and Berlin to interact with the Indian diaspora, business and political leaders, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday announced important changes in the party structure, including the appointment of senior leader Ahmed Patel as the party treasurer.
Mr. Patel, who served as the powerful political secretary to the former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, replaces Moti Lal Vohra, one of the longest-serving treasurers of the party.
His appointment as treasurer, a post that he had held before in 1996, came on a day when he turned 69. But more importantly, the move comes at a time when the Congress is struggling for funds ahead of the 2019 polls.
Senior leaders point out that the post of the treasurer comes next to the party president and signals the importance of Mr. Patel in Team Rahul. Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma has been made the head of the foreign affairs department of the party, replacing veteran Karan Singh.
Mr. Sharma’s first official engagement in his new role will be to accompany Mr. Gandhi to a meeting with leaders of the Labour Party in London later this week.
New faces in CWC
Barely a month after announcing a new Congress Working Committee (CWC) — the party highest decision making body — some new names faces were added.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who was defeated in the presidential election as the UPA nominee last year, has been made a permanent invitee to the CWC.
Mr. Patel’s appointment not only signals his importance in the party hierarchy but will also tap his experience of being a behind-the-scenes strategist and crisis manager during the UPA regime, to improve the party’s finances.
He is expected to undertake an aggressive and innovative campaign to shore up the collections.
After the 2014 debacle, the Congress’ coffers reportedly dried up and some time ago, the party’s official Twitter handle put up a tweet asking for crowd-funding.
Mr. Vohra, however, will continue to be an office-bearer as he has been made the general secretary in charge of administration, a newly created post.
Another change effected in the CWC is the removal of senior leader C.P. Joshi as in-charge of the northeastern States.
Goa Congress leader Luizhinho Faleiro, who has handled the region before, has been reappointed as in charge of the northeastern States, except Assam.
The removal of Mr. Joshi is significant as he was seen to be responsible for the decline of the party in the northeast, where the BJP and its allies now rule seven out of the eight States.
Mr. Patel, who served as the powerful political secretary to the former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, replaces Moti Lal Vohra, one of the longest-serving treasurers of the party.
His appointment as treasurer, a post that he had held before in 1996, came on a day when he turned 69. But more importantly, the move comes at a time when the Congress is struggling for funds ahead of the 2019 polls.
Senior leaders point out that the post of the treasurer comes next to the party president and signals the importance of Mr. Patel in Team Rahul. Deputy Leader of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma has been made the head of the foreign affairs department of the party, replacing veteran Karan Singh.
Mr. Sharma’s first official engagement in his new role will be to accompany Mr. Gandhi to a meeting with leaders of the Labour Party in London later this week.
New faces in CWC
Barely a month after announcing a new Congress Working Committee (CWC) — the party highest decision making body — some new names faces were added.
Former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, who was defeated in the presidential election as the UPA nominee last year, has been made a permanent invitee to the CWC.
Mr. Patel’s appointment not only signals his importance in the party hierarchy but will also tap his experience of being a behind-the-scenes strategist and crisis manager during the UPA regime, to improve the party’s finances.
He is expected to undertake an aggressive and innovative campaign to shore up the collections.
After the 2014 debacle, the Congress’ coffers reportedly dried up and some time ago, the party’s official Twitter handle put up a tweet asking for crowd-funding.
Mr. Vohra, however, will continue to be an office-bearer as he has been made the general secretary in charge of administration, a newly created post.
Another change effected in the CWC is the removal of senior leader C.P. Joshi as in-charge of the northeastern States.
Goa Congress leader Luizhinho Faleiro, who has handled the region before, has been reappointed as in charge of the northeastern States, except Assam.
The removal of Mr. Joshi is significant as he was seen to be responsible for the decline of the party in the northeast, where the BJP and its allies now rule seven out of the eight States.