CWC rejig a key move by Congress ahead of Rajasthan polls, 7 state leaders make it to panel

The much awaited rejig of the Congress Working Committee makes amply clear the immense importance the party leadership attaches to the upcoming Assembly elections in Rajasthan. While the highlight of the Rajasthan aspect of the re-cast CWC is the inclusion of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot in the highest decision making body of the party, as many as seven leaders from the state figure in the panel.

The central leadership of the party has succeeded in bringing about a truce between Pilot and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, with the two leaders bringing to a halt their war of words and ensuring there is a semblance of a peaceful co-existence. Pilot's inclusion in the 39-member primary list of the CWC is an apparent effort to send out a message to the rank and file in the state that he is a leader valued by the party high command. It is after a gap of three years, since he was removed as deputy chief minister and PCC president in 2020 in the wake of his rebellion against Gehlot, that Pilot has been given a post in the party.

The party high command, with Pilot's inclusion in the CWC, has managed to undertake a balancing act in the election-going state. While the party will go into the elections with Gehlot, on account of being the chief minister, for all practical purposes being its face, it has been made clear that Pilot too has a place on the centre stage.

The representation of Rajasthan in the CWC has gone up from four to seven. The other leaders from the state who figure in the main list of 39 members are Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Jitendra Singh and Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya.

Besides Pilot, Malviya, a tribal leader from Banswara district, is a new entrant into the CWC. A minister in the Gehlot government, Malviya is regarded as a leader who has risen through the ranks. His elevation to the CWC ties up with the Congress' efforts to win the favour of the tribal community in the run up to the elections.

Singhvi, the most important legal troubleshooter of the party, and Jitendra Singh, who is AICC general secretary in charge of Assam and head of the screening committee for the elections in Madhya Pradesh, have retained their places in the panel. Singh is also known to be a part of the inner circle of former party president Rahul Gandhi.

Harish Choudhary, a prominent Jat face of the party and a leader known to be close to Rahul, figures in the CWC amongst the permanent invitees on account of being an AICC in charge. Choudhary is in charge of Punjab.

Mohan Prakash, regarded as one of the key strategists in the party, and who is a Brahmin face from the state, has also been included amongst the permanent invitees. One of the party's pointsmen for the media, Pawan Khera, who hails from Rajasthan, has been included in the CWC in the list of special invitees. Khera is chairman of media and publicity in the party's Communications department.