Cong gets gender politics right: Yuvak turns Yuva

‘‘This is the largest representation of women and we will keep increasing it. The state units, too, have been asked to follow suit,’’ says Tanwar. The flag of the organisation, too, will change now, replacing ‘yuvak’ with yuva. ‘‘All stationery and posters with ‘yuvak’ has been recalled. At all levels, IYC will become more welcoming for women,’’ says spokesperson Madhumita Chakravorty.

Besides, Tanwar points out, Youth Congress will stress on ‘‘youth’’ — the average age of office-bearers is 30 while the president is 29. ‘‘Each aspirant is required to prove his age, and it is strictly directed by the party high command,’’ says Tanwar. The IYC’s age ceiling was 35 but the norm was hardly followed.

And no office-bearer is a foreign educated son or daughter of senior Congressmen, as has been the practice for quite some time. The previous president was Randeep Surjewala, son of Haryana leader Shamsheer Surjewala. Surjewala junior is now a minister in Haryana. Jagat Singh, son of Natwar Singh, and Jitin Prasada, son of late Jitendra Prasada, were general secretaries. In contrast, the present committee, says Tanwar, is not about pedigree. Tanwar, for instance, is a Dalit, and a PhD scholar in History at JNU.

The flip side of the story, party circles suggest, is that a low-profile Youth Congress is a move to keep the limelight on Rahul Gandhi as the sole representative of the new generation. Rahul is taking interest in the IYC. Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada apparently do not want to be seen as a challenge to the family.