A day after Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati ruled out an alliance with the Congress for Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections, it seems to be business as usual for the grand old party. Gearing up for the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Thursday set up as many as nine committees to manage its campaign in the poll-bound state.
Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot will be heading the coordination panel and state party chief Sachin Pilot will chair the state election committee. This seems to be an effort to strike a balance between the two chief ministerial aspirants in the state.
The need to accommodate all the sections in the party seems to be a major priority for Mr Gandhi as most senior leaders have been given charge of specific committees. For instance, All India Congress Committee secretary Harish Chaudhary will head the party's manifesto committee, while Member of Parliament from Alwar, Raghu Sharma, will chair the campaign committee.
Raghu Meena, who is deputy leader of the opposition in the Rajasthan assembly, will be the convenor of the state election committee.
All senior leaders from the state are part of the state election committee, including, Girija Vyas, Mohan Prakash and CP Joshi.
Dr Joshi, a former union minister, will also head the publication and publicity committee.
Lachhmangarh legislator Govind Singh Dotasra will head the media and coordination committee, while former Lalsot legislator Parsadilal Meena will take care of the transport and accommodation committee. Rajasthan Mahila Congress chief Rehana Riaz has been appointed as head of the protocol committee. The disciplinary committee will be headed by former Rajasthan education minister Bhanwarlal Meghwal.
The assembly elections in Rajasthan are due later this year. The state assembly has 200 members of which only 26 are from the Congress. However, the party's fortunes appear to be improving as was evident in its huge victory in the by-elections to the Alwar and Ajmer Lok Sabha constituencies and the Mandalgarh assembly seat in February this year.
The Congress is reportedly confident of winning Rajasthan and sources say it is for this reason the party did not actively try to woo Mayawati for an alliance in the state.
With inputs from PTI
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