Patna, Nov 5: Besides going in for a major organisational shake-up, the Congress high command is all set to announce the formal decision to sever relations with the RJD by next week.The members of the AICC special task force, during their three-day stay here, explored possibilities of finalising probable candidates for the future state Congress chief. According to party sources, the high command intends to bring in as PCC chief someone from the upper castes, a Harijan or Muslim in place of Sadanand Singh. Party secretary Irshad Hussain said a list of nine names had been handed over to the members of the task force.The names include those of senior party leader L.P. Shahi, former minister S.M. Isha, and Radha Krishna Kishore. The high command strongly nourishes the view that, with Assembly elections likely in February, it should reconstitute the PCC before that. Party sources maintain that the new chief is likely to be announced by next week.In fact, the urgency to sever ties with the RJD haunts mostof the Congress leadership. On October 12, a group of senior leaders called on Sonia and impressed upon her the need to end the alliance with the RJD. They further elaborated their argument before the special task force, citing the results of the Lok Sabha election. The Congress could win the Rajmahal seat even without RJD support, they pointed out.Irshad said they also submitted a memorandum to the team pointing out that the alliance with the RJD had cost the Congress severely. By aligning with the RJD, the Congress had simply alienated the traditional votes.
