Rahul Gandhi meets Congress secretaries ahead of reshuffle buzz

The meeting comes weeks after Rahul Gandhi interviewed possible candidates last month to appoint new secretaries as part of an organisational overhaul.

Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday met Congress secretaries to learn about their work and the issues they face ahead of an organisational reshuffle that could bring more responsibilities to these leaders, people familiar with the matter said.

According to some of the secretaries, who are mid-rung leaders in organisation, the former party chief was keen to assess their performance and commitment.

The meeting comes weeks after Rahul Gandhi interviewed possible candidates last month to appoint new secretaries as part of an organisational overhaul. Congress general secretaries KC Venugopal and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra were also present.

While some general secretaries and in-charges have been changed, the next phase of the reshuffle would involve the 56 secretaries working under general secretaries, the people said.

Last week, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge shifted general secretary Bhupesh Baghel from poll-bound Punjab to Assam and had given Karnataka general secretary Randeep Surjewala additional charge of Gujarat, which goes to polls next year. The party dropped three in-charges and handed over the responsibility of Punjab to Sachin Pilot, the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister.

Rahul and Priyanka asked the mid-rank leaders about their visits to states. Rahul told them to spend at least 15 days in their states, emphasising touring and meeting people rather than operating from Delhi.

“There was an indication that Rahul, Priyanka and Venugopal are keen to define roles and responsibilities. They asked a number of questions related to this topic,” said a secretary involved in a north Indian state.

According to leaders, several secretaries highlighted the lack of opportunities. “At least four leaders mentioned the need to define roles in poll-bound states and in states where elections are not due in the near term,” a second secretary said.

In another meeting, the leaders argued that during Sangathan Srijan (an organisational overhaul), the state observers along with in-charges had set up the district committees but secretaries had no role in the process. “The Congress has an in-charge-centric system. Secretaries are not required to give feedback and we are not a part of the decision-making system,” said the first leader quoted above.

A leader considered close to Rahul Gandhi, however, refuted these charges. Calling the meeting a “regular affair”, he said such interactions aim to strengthen the organisation.

“These charges of not getting defined roles or little opportunities are baseless. Opportunity also depends on the person’s calibre. I was appointed a secretary after working in the organisation for 17 years. Some people might have come from other backgrounds. They cannot expect to do heavy lifting from day one,” said the leader.

He added that the party high command, especially Rahul Gandhi and Venugopal “know every worker’s tasks. How many days they have spent in the states and the areas a secretary had covered. They know what is going on.”

Saubhadra Chatterji is Deputy Political Editor at the Hindustan Times. He writes on both politics and policies.