Cong appoints officer for organisational polls

an attempt to revamp its organisational structure in Delhi and strengthen its local unit, the Congress has appointed a new pradesh returning officer. The officer will conduct organisational elections and oversee the party’s membership drive.

Nitin Raut, a senior party leader from Maharashtra who was a cabinet minister in the state government until 2014, has been entrusted the responsibility of elections and asked to intensify membership drive in the capital.

Earlier, the charge was with Viplove Thakur, a Rajya Sabha member from Himachal Pradesh.

The decision comes close on the heels of the party’s poor performance in the municipal polls last month.

The Congress could win only 30 out of 270 seats in three municipal corporation polls and finished third after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

A senior party functionary said as per the directions of the Election Commission, the mandatory organisational election is to be concluded by December 31, 2017. Moreover, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is also strongly in favour of internal polls after the party’s defeat in the civic polls.

As per rules, all registered political parties have to hold their internal elections annually.

“To have a strong organisational structure in place, the party has appointed Nitin Raut to hold internal elections and intensify the membership drive in Delhi. The party has decided to strengthen its local units in each ward and block. Rahul Gandhi is also for party elections,” he said.

But sources in the party said the state unit might pass a oneline resolution asking the high command to nominate or appoint officer-bearers in Delhi.