Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi (Reuters file)
Ghulam Nabi Azad has been removed from the post of secretary general, while former minister Tariq Anwar, who had previously resigned from Congress to float the NCP, received a double promotion.
- News18.com New Delhi
- Last update: September 11, 2020 9:57 PM IST
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Congress President Sonia Gandhi carried out a major reorganization in the party on Friday, removing Ghulam Nabi Azad from the post of general secretary and giving former minister Tariq Anwar a double promotion. Azad was the oldest leader among the group of 23 who had written a letter to Gandhi seeking organizational reforms in the party.
Anwar, along with Sharad Pawar and PA Sangma, had left Congress to float the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP). However, he later returned to the fold of Congress just before the Lok Sabha elections last year. Anwar has been appointed general secretary in charge of Kerala for the polls and a member of the Congressional Working Committee (CWC).
Only one member of the dissident camp, Mukul Wasnik, has been included in the six-member committee that will help the president of Congress manage the party’s affairs. The other members include family loyalists AK Anthony, Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni, KC Venugopal, and Randeep Singh Surjewala.
Some of Rahul Gandhi’s key aides and loyalists, such as Venugopal and Surjewala, have been nominated to all key committees.
The reorganization comes after a section of party leaders wrote to Sonia Gandhi seeking organizational reforms in Congress. Signatories to the letter came under strong criticism at the recent Congressional Working Committee (CWC) meeting.
Sonia Gandhi also reconstituted the party’s Central Electoral Authority and appointed general secretaries and state officials to the All India Congressional Committee (AICC).
Jitin Prasad has been appointed in charge of the party in West Bengal, bound for the polls. Madhusudan Mistry, Rajesh Mishra, Krishna Byre Gowda, S Jothimani and Avinder Singh Lovely were appointed members of the Central Election Authority.
Surjewala, Jitendra Singh and Ajay Maken have been appointed new general secretaries for Karnataka, Assam and Rajasthan, respectively.
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