New Delhi: The hunt for a new Youth Congress chief has begun with the term of incumbent president Rajeev Satav coming to a close and Rahul Gandhi seeking to make the party fighting fit after its Lok Sabha polls debacle.
"Satav continues to be the Youth Congress president but he has requested for a new team including a new president, as the term of his team is over," AICC secretary Sooraj Hegde said.
Dismissing as "not true" the speculation that Satav has been dropped from the post, Hegde said that the incumbent IYC chief is participating in the process of finding a new team.
He also dubbed as "baseless" suggestions that Satav's replacement was being thought of after his organizing the Caravan programme.
Satav said he had expressed his desire to relinquish his charge so that "new blood comes in".
He said that he had resigned from the Youth Congress two years back as well but was asked to continue.
Satav is a Lok Sabha member from Hingoli constituency in Maharashtra, where the party could secure only two out of 48 seats.
Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi has introduced the system of elections in Youth Congress and NSUI ending the nomination culture soon after he took charge as AICC general secretary in 2007.
Gandhi now oversees all frontal organizations of Congress including Mahila Congress and Seva Dal while playing a key role in decision making in the parent party.
Though doubts were expressed in certain quarters of the party about the internal election process in Youth Congress, indications have it that the same will continue.
In the past, the office-bearers of Youth Congress and NSUI were nominated by leaders of Congress party till Gandhi introduced internal elections in these bodies.
The leadership, has, asked state youth Congress leaders to send in names for the next national chief of party's youth body.
Recently it was decided that the State Congress Presidents will have the power to nominate and promote office-bearers, an attempt to strengthen their authority.
