Little Rahul impact in key states

SONS IN CHARGE

Even partymen sceptical of Gandhi's chances of changing the party's fortunes in UP.

Can Rahul Gandhi effect the miracles the world expects from the young new general secretary of the Congress? Expectations are low in his own party but his appointment has created waves elsewhere in the world.

"Until fundamental weaknesses in the party organisation are plugged, no individual, no matter how dynamic and well-meaning he might be, can change things," said a permanent invitee to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) who was dropped in the party reshuffle yesterday.

Oblivious of the irony that a permanent invitee to the CWC (a post named as such to acknowledge the experience and expertise that some individuals brought to the CWC, the most important organisation in the party) could be changed at will, the Congress member said, "Until we improve the party set-up in UP, nothing should be expected anywhere else."

Party members said even before he was made general secretary, all indications were that Rahul Gandhi's views were sought for the shape that was given to the reshuffle yesterday.

That is possibly why Rita Bahuguna was appointed chief of the UP Congress Committee (UPCC). Bahuguna, members recall, was the divisional coordinator of the party in Faizabad and Lucknow during the Assembly elections.

She is considered to be the the most qualified to wear the mantle of her father, HN Bahuguna, remembered by many as one of the most politically astute chief minister of UP. Rita Bahuguna interacted at length with Rahul Gandhi during the campaign. However, none of the states where the Congress most needs to beef up its presence was touched in the reshuffle yesterday.

With Orissa set to go to polls in 2009 and Biju Janata Dal chief and Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik having to manage a demoralised party, the Congress could have capitalised, but only if the leadership was reshuffled.

In Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister YS Rajashekhar Reddy is the Congress' biggest USP, but the Andhra Pradesh unit does not have a chief since Keshav Rao resigned due to his son's alleged involvement in a murder case.

Karnataka has a PCC chief but no executive "� the party has had no unit in the state worth the name for the last three years. In Punjab and Rajasthan, the Congress has had to appoint a working president, indicating the president represents just a faction in the party and cannot deliver alone.

Things are no better in West Bengal, where there has been no president since Pranab Mukherjee's resignation from the post. Mukherjee's resignation has not been accepted either.

Factions are working overtime in Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. In Himachal, PCC chief Vidya Stokes and Virbhadra Singh, the Congress Legislature Party chief, are at loggerheads, causing a vertical split in the party, almost guaranteeing the BJP's win in the Assembly elections in winter next year.

In Haryana, the Bhajan Lal faction in the Congress is working not just against Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda but also against the party. MP and Bhajan Lal's son Kuldeep Singh Bishnoi continues to be suspended from the party and is the focal point for dissidence in the state unit.

Opinion in India notwithstanding, Rahul Gandhi got resounding support from political forces abroad. Ahead of Sonia Gandhi's visit to China, the ruling Communist Party there congratulated Rahul Gandhi on his appointment and expressed keenness to further cement party-to-party relations.

"We would like to extend our congratulations to the newly appointed general secretary of the Indian National Congress," said Zhang Zhijun, Vice-Minister of the International Department of the Communist Party of China's (CPC's) Central Committee.

"The Indian National Congress is a very important force in the political arena of India. We highly appreciate the Indian National Congress for the role it has played in safeguarding the friendly relations between China and India and promoting cooperation between the two countries," Zhang told PTI in Beijing.