Rahul forms key panels with eye on 2019 LS polls
CORE GROUP Old guard intact, but fresh faces make entry
NEW DELHI: The Indian National Congress has signalled its intent for the Lok Sabha polls next year by announcing, on Saturday, two poll-related committees and a core group, the first time it is announcing a core group for a parliamentary election.
The nine-member core group named by party president Rahul Gandhi comprises AK Antony, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, treasurer Ahmed Patel, general secretary Ashok Gehlot, former finance minister P Chidambaram, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, former union minister Jairam Ramesh, chief spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala and general secretary KC Venugopal.
The two other committees announced on Saturday are the ones in charge of manifesto and publicity.
Apart from Chidambaram and Ramesh, the 19-member manifesto panel has Manpreet Singh Badal, Sushmita Dev, Rajeev Gowda, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Salman Khurshid, Bindu Krishnan, Kumari Selja, Raghuveer Meena, Balchandra Mungekar, Meenakshi Natarajan, Rajni Patil, Sam Pitroda, Sachin Rao, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Mukul Sangma, Shashi Tharoor and Lalitesh Tripathi.
The publicity committee will have 13 members: Bhakta Cha– ran Das, Praveen Chakravarty, Milind Deora, Kumar Ketkar, Pawan Khera, VD Satheesan, Anand Sharma, Jaiveer Shergill, Rajeev Shukla, Divya Spandana, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Manish Tewari and Pramod Tiwari.
While no one has been named as the head of the respective panels, Gehlot clarified that the leaders will select the coordinators for calling the meetings.
“Important committees have been formed and the other panels too will be gradually formed,” he added. The party is expected to announce an election coordination committee and another to manage alliances.
Gehlot said the core group will be the apex body overseeing and managing the party’s 2019 Lok Sabha election preparations . He said the party has had such a core group in the past too, albeit under a different name and shape.