Punjab Congress to have 4 working presidents

Thursday, 21/03/2013

http://www.punjabnewsline.com/news/Punjab-Congress-to-have-4-working-presidents.html

NEW DELHI: All India Congress Committee is learnt to have mooted the idea of appointing four working presidents for Punjab. There will be one working president each for Doaba and Majha regions, while two for the Malwa region, which is quite large and extensive in terms of reach and constituencies.

Highly placed sources in the AICC disclosed that the working presidents, who will effectively be senior vice presidents, include Amritsar MLA OP Soni for Majha region, Tralochan Sondh MLA Banga for Doaba region, Gupreet Kangar ex-MLA Rampura Phul and Milkiat Singh Dakha, former minister, both for the Malwa region.

Senior party leader Laal Singh, who was effectively the senior vice president during the presidentship of Capt Amarinder Singh is learnt to have declined the offer to become one of the working presidents. However, he is understood to not been averse to being the sole working president and not one among the four. He has earlier served as the acting PCC president during the 2009 parliamentary elections.

The idea of appointing the working presidents is understood to have been mooted to address the various caste and religious compulsions and considerations of the party. Given the fact that the PCC president Partap Singh Bajwa belongs to the dominant Jat Sikh community, the party has decided to accommodate other castes including the Hindus and the Dalits in the leadership.

There will be two Dalits, Sondh and Dakha. This is being done to address the issue of eroding base of the party among the Dalits particularly in the Doaba region where party was routed in the last assembly elections. Otherwise it was supposed to be the stronghold for the party.

Nevertheless the party has made significant inroads in the rural constituency otherwise dominated by the Akalis, and increased its vote share to a phenomenal over 40 per cent across the state however, it has lost its ground among the Dalit sections, its traditional supporters.

With Sondh, a well rooted Dalit leader with immense contribution to the party and lot of hold in the Doaba region, the party hopes to retrieve its lost ground in that region. Besides, Dakha being another prominent Dalit leader from Ludhiana region is also expected to help the party better its fortunes and base.

This also marks a visible shift for the party by handing over the reins of the Dalit leadership to new leaders. Otherwise it was the Chaudhary brothers, Chaudhary Jagjit Singh and Chaudhary Santokh Singh, besides Mohinder Singh Kaypee who had dominated the party till now.

The PCC president Partap Singh Bajwa is believed to have been taken into confidence in this regard. The idea behind appointing four working presidents is believed to ensure better coordination with the cadres at the grassroots level.