New Delhi: The Congress will soon appoint new general secretaries and other top office-bearers as many of the posts were now held by central ministers, says party leader Oscar Fernandes.
Fernandes, chairman of the Congress` central election authority, told IANS that a reshuffle of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) "was due".
Asked if it would happen soon, he replied: "It should happen."
The Congress central team includes nine general secretaries, eight state in-charges and 39 secretaries. Of them, seven office-bearers - Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mukul Wasnik, Prithviraj Chavan, M. Veerapa Moily, A.K. Antony, V. Narayanasamy and Jairam Ramesh - are serving as union ministers.
The Congress has largely stuck to a one-man-one-post norm since the mid-90s. There has been speculation of a reshuffle in the party for some time now. The new appointments are widely expected to take place in February.
Fernandes linked the reshuffle with changes in the union council of ministers, saying the process was "complementary". He, however, said that changes in the council of ministers would be "limited".
Fernandes, who is an interface between the party and the government, had resigned as a minister about three months before the 2009 Lok Sabha elections to work in the party.
"There is a clear understanding in the party as to who does what job," said Fernandes, who is also incharge of AICC meetings, Congress sessions and working committees.
Asked about the possibility of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra joining active politics, Fernandes said she was already in politics as she was looking after her mother and Congress president Sonia Gandhi`s constituency of Rae Bareli.
"Whether she can devote full time for the party is her decision. Party workers would definitely like her to play a more active role," he said.
Fernandes said the party will give more representation to women, youth and weaker sections during organisational elections, slated to be over by July.
Asked if the AICC would conduct transparent elections as had been done by party general secretary Rahul Gandhi in the Youth Congress, Fernandes said he was "not discouraging elections".
"We have our own process from the beginning," he said.
About the party`s weak standing in states like Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, Fernandes said organisational elections were a way of strengthening the party.
"Blocks (block committees) are the real lifeline of the organisation," he said, adding that Tamil Nadu had reported a very high rate of membership.
Asked if the Congress had a system of performance audit for office-bearers - something the Bharatiya Janata Party`s (BJP) new president Nitin Gadkari has repeatedly emphasised - Fernandes said the Congress office-bearers had proved themselves in the last general elections.
"I have no comment to make on their (BJP) plans. The Congress (team) has performed."
IANS
