Andhra Pradesh   

Mood upbeat on eve of Congress plenary

K.V. Prasad

Karnataka developments seem not to have dampened the spirit of the partymen

HYDERABAD: Although the 82nd plenary session of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) commences here on Saturday in the backdrop of the political turbulence in neighbouring Karnataka, the mood in the organisation appears upbeat.

With the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee leadership taking all steps to host the mega party event, the political storm being weathered by a Congress-led coalition Government has not doused the enthusiasm of the 12,000-odd delegates, arriving here to attend it.

Aware that it has time to deal with the problem being faced by the Dharam Singh coalition Government in Karnataka, the Congress has decided to focus its attention to the immediate task of drawing a roadmap for the organisation that would remain relevant over the next three years.

"There is no connection [with developments in Bangalore] and preparations here,'' AICC general secretary Ambika Soni told The Hindu. She said while the party was attending to the problem in the neighbouring State, the enthusiasm among workers was unprecedented. This could be gauged by requests that were still pouring from several States for passes to attend the plenary.

Political challenges

Having been entrusted with the job of keeping a coalition arrangement at the Centre together amid pulls and pressures exerted by the likes of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Telangana Rashtra Samiti, the AICC is expected to address the twin political challenge of continuity with coalitions and change of party profile.

The Hyderabad plenary is held five years after the Bangalore session and in changed circumstances. The party had then spent five years in the opposition at the Centre while now it has 20 months' experience of heading a coalition Government, an experiment it never engaged in.

The theme for the Hyderabad plenary aptly sums it up as building future on the foundations of the past with new responsibilities (Atit ki Neev, Bhavishya Kaa Nirman, Nayi Zimadari). The challenge is to ensure that the party expands its political space without unsettling the United Progressive Alliance arrangement at the Centre.

There is also a hope in the party that finally heir-apparent Rahul Gandhi would figure in the organisational scheme of things. The clamour for his induction into the Congress Working Committee (CWC) — the highest policy-making body — has already begun. If his Lok Sabha bench-mate from Uttar Pradesh Jitin Prasad has shot off a letter to the State party chief to take a lead on the issue, the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee put up several banners and a huge hoarding proclaiming the young Amethi MP as leader the party awaits. It may not be insignificant that his sister Priyanaka Gandhi has excused herself from attending the plenary. With five vacancies still pending in the CWC and Congress president Sonia Gandhi being armed with the `authorisation' to fill them, the organisation awaits the development.

Debate on resolutions

Meanwhile, the extended CWC that includes the CWC members, permanent and special invitees, Chief Ministers and Chiefs of Legislature Parties would meet here on Saturday to clear the four resolutions for the plenary.

AICC and PCC delegates would discuss and debate the political, economic and international and agriculture, rural development and poverty alleviation resolutions on Sunday and Monday and set the course the party should take till its next plenary.

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