Vidya, Chandresh in close race for key Cong posts

SHIMLA, Jan 17: Even as move is afoot to revamp the PCC structure here, former speaker Vidya Stokes and Rajya Sabha MP Chandresh Kumari a...

SHIMLA, Jan 17: Even as move is afoot to revamp the PCC structure here, former speaker Vidya Stokes and Rajya Sabha MP Chandresh Kumari are in a close race for key positions in the Congress Working Committee and AICC respectively. Their close proximity with party president Sonia Gandhi have brightened their political future in the party.

Though Stokes8217; name is also being discussed as a replacement for Virbhadra Singh as Congress Legislature Party leader, the latest developments in Delhi especially after adoption of resolution to effect reservation for women has changed the scenario for the time being. There is yet another reason to weaken her claim for the CLP leadership. The party high command has not been able to decide as to how best the services of Virbhadra Singh would be utilised, if he was to be replaced.

As the Congress is in the process of finding suitable choices among the women leaders for accommodating them in the CWC, Stokes remains a powerful choice for Sonia Gandhi. If the proposal materialises, she will be the first Congress leader from Himachal Pradesh to get the berth in the CWC, which even Virbhadra Singh could not get despite strong lobbying by his supporters.

Chandresh Kumari, a sitting MP, is also being tipped for suitable adjustment in the AICC. Initially, the Virbhadra Singh camp tried to project her as an alternative to PCC president Sat Mahajan. The offer was declined by her. She instead teamed up with Mahajan and other state Congress leaders to suggest revamping of the entire Congress set-up in the state. Mainly based in Delhi and being deputy whip of the Congress in the Rajya Sabha, she would prefer to work in the AICC rather than return to the state politics at this stage.

Virbhadra Singh detractors have been quite active in Delhi, pleading for a change in the leadership. Virbhadra Singh, despite all this continues to maintain his grip over the party as well as the CLP. Senior leaders in Delhi admit that Virbhadra Singh was relevant to state politics and unless he was rehabilitated suitably, the change could not be affected. Perhaps because of these reasons, his resignation from the CLP which he had submitted soon after the party8217;s defeat in the Mandi Lok Sabha and four other assembly segments in June last, has neither been accepted nor rejected.

There is also a line of thinking in the high command that former CM Ram Lal Thakur should also be actively involved in the party affairs. For a long time, Thakur had been sidelined and did not get any significant role in the state as well as the Centre. However, after Sonia Gandhi taking over command, Thakur, who also enjoys close proximity with R.K Dhawan, AICC general secretary, had tried to revive his contacts among MLAs.

The Congress8217; game-plan of winning over support from HVC president Sukh Ram leaders feel would succeed only if Sukh Ram8217;s term for replacement of Virbhadra Singh is accepted. Sukh Ram has already had a meeting with Sonia Gandhi and conveyed his desire to return to the party in the due course. The PCC president Sat Mahajan, is himself on record as saying that when it comes to the forming of an alternative government, support from Sukh Ram cannot be ruled out.