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23-member Congress panel to draft manifesto for Rajasthan elections

Special Correspondent

The all-important campaign committee is yet to be announced

Former Pradesh Congress Committee president B.D. Kalla to head the panel
Party leadership’s quest to bring in a balance among the various groups

JAIPUR: The All-India Congress Committee on Tuesday announced the committee for drafting the party manifesto for the upcoming Rajasthan Assembly elections. The committee, to be headed by former PCC president B.D. Kalla, comes almost six months after the party leadership had constituted the State coordination committee headed by Rajasthan PCC president C.P. Joshi.

The 23-member committee, to be coordinated by PCC vice-president Chandra Bhan, has Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests Namonarain Meena and party MPs Prabha Thakur and Karan Singh Yadav as members. Mr. Meena is also a member of the coordination committee along with another Union Minister from the State, Sisram Ola. Dr. Yadav is a member of the coordination committee as well.

The other members

The other members of the committee are: former Ministers Pradhyumna Singh, Ms. Zakia and Lalit Bhati, former Deputy Speaker of the State Assembly, Devendra Singh, former chief whip of the Congress, Hari Singh Mahuwa, and party MLAs, Imamuddin Ahmed Khan, Chandra Shekhar Baid, Hari Mohan Sharma and Sanyam Lodha, and former MP from Banswara, Mahendra Jeet Malvea. Mr. Khan, MLA from Tijara in Alwar district, is also a member of the coordination committee.

The members include K.L. Meena, a former civil servant who joined the Congress a few months back, Khanu Khan Budhwali, head of the PCC Minorities Department, Ramgopal Bairwa, Raj Singh Nirwan, Girdhari Singh Bafna, Vibhuti Sharan Sharma, B.L. Verma and B.P. Dhaka.

While the most powerful of the party committees in the election year -- the campaign committee -- is yet to be announced, the constitution of the present body is indicative of the party leadership’s quest to bring in a balance among the various groups in the State Congress. Mr. Kalla, dropped as PCC chief to make way for Dr. Joshi last year, has been brought back while the convener, Dr. Bhan, is a close associate of former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Mr.Nirwan, who was an officer on special duty with Mr. Gehlot when he was the Chief Minister, and Mr. Bafna, an activist lawyer, are known confidants of Mr. Gehlot.

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