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Sonia rewards veterans

The Congress veterans's ascendance over their younger counterparts, even in the All India Congress Committee reshuffle, is evident with party chief Sonia Gandhi appointing Motilal Vora party treasurer.

"Voraji's appointment is significant only because the very trustworthy are given this important post," pointed out a former AICC secretary. He contended that Congress leaders Indira Gandhi and her son Rajiv had retained Sitaram Kesri as treasurer and the trend had been continued by P V Narasimha Rao.

Despite the presence of three other CWC members from Madhya Pradesh -- Arjun Singh, Madhavrao Scindia and Kamal Nath -- Vora is expected to have a greater say with the Congress chief, considering his "low-profile efficacy", according to party insiders.

Singh, Scindia and Nath are loyal to Sonia, but since they all have their respective spheres of influence, Vora is expected to act as a balancing factor.

The Congress chief has also entrusted Punjab and Maharashtra to Vora, apart from the AICC administration. This makes him an important confidant for Sonia.

The party secretaries for these responsibilities are Shivlal Balmiki from Uttar Pradesh and Mirza Irshad Baig from Gujarat.

Sonia appointed Ambika Soni (besides inducting her into the Congress Working Committee) the general secretary in charge of Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka and the Congress president's office.

"Madam has been pleased with her performance. That is why she is now enjoying such crucial assignments," said the afore-mentioned party official.

The secretaries for these assignments are V Hanumantha (from Andhra Pradesh) and Daljit Singh, an MLA from Rajasthan.

Ghulam Nabi Azad has been retained general secretary with Andaman and Nicobar, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, Tamil Nadu , Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal as his charge.

With Sonia in a quandary over her party's stand in the Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry assembly election, she has preferred to retain Azad as the man in charge of the two states.

Azad also has a crucial responsibility of looking after Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal, where the Congress has the unenviable task of retrieving substantial lost ground before next year's assembly election, with these states being ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Assisting Azad as secretaries are Ramesh Chennithala, the Congress MP from Kerala, and former Union minister of state for home Subodh Kant Sahay.

CWC member Kamal Nath has been made general secretary with the important charge of West Bengal, among others. He has the unenviable task of placating almost 30 party legislators from Bengal, who have threatened the central high command that either it acquiesces to their demand of joining a mahajot [grand alliance] comprising the Trinamul Congress and the BJP in the state against the ruling Left Front or it be prepared to their crossing over to Mamata Banerjee's Trinamul Congress.

Sonia has already summoned them to Delhi for consultations, but the West Bengal Congress chief has already warned her that these party legislators are in a rebellious mood.

Kamal Nath is also in charge of Assam, Delhi, Daman & Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa and Orissa. Assisting him are secretaries Omen Deori and Anil Shastri.

Mahabir Prasad has been appointment general secretary in charge of Bihar, Jharkhand and Rajasthan. He will be assisted by secretaries Santosh Chaudhary and Sudha Joshi.

Mohsina Kidwai, general secretary in charge of Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, will be assisted by secretaries Bhubaneshwar Kalita and Sushila Taria.

Retained as general secretary, Oscar Fernandes will continue to look after AICC meetings and sessions, the CWC, organisational election work and departments and cells. These responsibilities confirm that Fernandes remains close to the Congress chief. Chandan Bagchi and former Union minister Selja will assist him as secretaries.

Sonia loyalists Mani Shankar Aiyar and Janardhan Dwivedi have also been rewarded. Aiyar (besides being a CWC special invitee) has independent charge of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura. Dwivedi, who writes speeches in Hindi for Sonia, has been given independent charge of the Congress Seva Dal and is also attached to the Congress president's office.

Young CWC member Mukul Wasnik -- the youngest MP in the 1984 Lok Sabha -- has been given charge of the Mahila Congress and independent charge of the National Students Union of India.

Bombay MP and film star Sunil Dutt has been given independent charge of the Indian Youth Congress.

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