Only three members of the total 39 are under 50 years of age. (file)
On former Prime Minister and Congress icon Rajiv Gandhi's birth anniversary, the grand old party today announced the names of members of its top decision-making body. Sachin Pilot, the sulking Rajasthan leader, has found a place in the Congress Working Committee ahead of assembly elections in the state later this year. The party has been trying to placate the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister, who has recently, openly embarrassed his own party's government in the state headed by his nemesis Ashok Gehlot.
Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor (who went against Mallikarjun Kharge in the Congress President poll last year), Deepa Das Munshi, and Syed Nasser Hussain are new entrants to the CWC.
Ms Das Munshi is a former MP from West Bengal and the wife of veteran Congress leader and former Union Minister, the late Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Ms Hussain is a Rajya Sabha member who has earlier served as Congress's national media panellist.
Mr Pilot is likely to be made in-charge of a big state, sources said.
In addition to Shashi Tharoor, Anand Sharma, another signatory to the letter written by the G-23 group demanding reforms in the party in 2020, has found a place in the top party body.
Shashi Tharoor sain in a post on X that he is "honoured" by the party president's decision to nominate him. "Humbled and grateful to be part of this institution," he said.
Earlier this year, the party's general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal had said half of the party's officer-bearers should be under 50. Only three of the total 39 CWC members are under 50 years of age -- Sachin Pilot, Gourav Gogoi and Kamaleshwar Patel.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi, who was in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, is unlikely to be made in charge of any state, sources said.
The members have been nominated by party president Mallikarjun Kharge and not picked through an election. Though Congress's Steering Committee had in february said that it was unanimously decided to authorise party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate all CWC members, sources said it was not unanimous, with leaders like Ajay Maken, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, and Digvijaya Singh favouring elections at the meeting held in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, as part of the Congress's 85th plenary session.