The appointment of Jitendra Prasada as vice-president of the Congress has altered the power equations among senior party leaders and further alienated from party chief Sitaram Kesri a number of those who were closest to him when he first took charge last September.
Politically, Prasadas induction is evidently meant to subtly alter Kesris thrust and retain whatever little is left of the partys support base among the upper castes of the north. Prasada is in the unique position of being politically acceptable to both Brahmins and Rajputs, since he belongs to one of the few formerly ruling Brahmin clans (at Shahjehanabad) in UP.
Kesri had initially emphasised his commitment to bringing back to the party the support of the minorities and the scheduled castes and tribes.
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Among those who had gained clout early in his tenure late last year were AICC general secretary Ghulam Nabi Azad, party treasurer Ahmed Patel and Kesris political secretary Tariq Anwar. All three have since become somewhat distant from Kesri.
Prasadas ascendance to the number two spot in the party will surely further marginalise these three. Other early gainers who have already become distanced include K Karunakaran and G Venkatswamy.
On the other hand, Kesri will now need to ensure that others who senior leaders who supported him during the recent party elections, such as Pranab Mukherjee, Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy, Arjun Singh and Madhavrao Scindia, are not alienated by Prasadas elevation. All of them could claim to be senior to Prasada. Prasada was evidently promoted as part of a bargain which Kesri apparently struck in the run-up to the party presidents election.
According to a party leader, Prasada, Digvijay Singh, Karunakaran were in the process of forming a loose alliance to back Pawar against Kesri but that fell through when Prasada, who had the support of the largest number in the electoral college, opted out.
Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy rushed to meet Kesri soon after Prasadas appointment was announced on Thursday evenng, apparently to express his sense of betrayal.
Almost the entire list of Andhra delegates is loyal to Reddy and he ensured their support for Kesri.
Kesri has already raised questions in the minds of some of Arjun Singh and Scindias supporters by getting the Madhya Pradesh unit of the party to authorise him to nominate a new president just before their nominee, Ajit Jogi, was set to be elected.
Kesris move was evidently meant to protect Chief Minister Digvijay Singh, whom the Arjun Singh-Scindia-Jogi combine wanted to bring down. They thought they had Kesris covert backing but Kesri is clearly in no mood to risk the survival of the only Congress government in a major state. (ends)