Delhi Confidential: As state Congress units urge Rahul Gandhi to take over as party chief, one voice of dissent

Resolute leader: As state units of the Congress are passing resolutions, urging Rahul Gandhi to take over as the party president despite his clear signal that he is not keen, at least one Congress leader disagrees with such resolutions.

Praveen Chakravarty, the head of the Congress’s data analytics department, is learnt to have expressed his dissent in the Tamil Nadu PCC meeting the other day. Although considered close to Rahul, Chakravarty is one of those leaders who had been silently rooting for genuine reforms in the organisation. Leaders say he believes that such resolutions are unwarranted — given that the election process is underway — and does not have the approval of the Gandhis, especially Rahul.

Heading Northeast: With Assembly polls in Tripura only six months away, the BJP is intensifying its activities in the state. On Wednesday, party’s newly-appointed state in-charge Mahesh Sharma and Northeast coordinator Sambit Patra landed in Agartala. Former Chief Minister Biplab Deb, who is the party’s Rajya Sabha candidate from the state, also accompanied them.

If elected, Deb will replace incumbent CM Manik Saha in the Upper House. Deb is pitted against Bhanu Lal Saha of the CPI(M), which recently urged the Congress and other parties to back its candidate in the Thursday bypoll. In the 60-member state Assembly, BJP has 36 members, its tribal ally IPFT (7), CPM (15) and Congress (1).