Arjun Singh, G. Venkatswami dropped; Oscar Fernandes promoted as General Secretary; P. Chidambaram, a permanent inviteeThe Congress Working Committee and the AICC secretariat were on Friday reconstituted by Sonia Gandhi, who dropped veterans like Arjun Singh and Mohsina Kidwai and G. Venkatswami, who attacked her recently, and inducted new faces in the hierarchy.
The exercise coming three months after the authorisation given to her also saw the exit of CWC member K. Keshava Rao who was in-charge of poll bound West Bengal as also Jharkhand.
Others who have not been re-nominated to the CWC are Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, Union Ministers Mallikarjun Kharge, V. Narayansami and senior MP Kishore Chandra Deo.
Those retained in the CWC besides Rahul Gandhi are senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, A.K. Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni and senior leaders Motilal Vora, Digvijay Singh, Janardan Dwivedi.
Oscar Fernandes has been promoted to CWC, the highest policy-making body of the party, and made a general secretary.
Senior leader Ahmed Patel, who retains his position as political secretary to Congress president, will continue to be part of the CWC, which will now have 19 members including Ms. Gandhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who is a member of the elite Core Group, has been made a permanent invitee for the CWC. Mr. Arjun Singh and Ms. Kidwai find a place in the CWC as permanent invitees. Satyavrat Chaturvedi has been removed as a permanent Invitee.
The CWC has named Birender Singh, Madhusudan Mistry and Mr. Fernandes as new general secretaries, in addition to the incumbents.
Andhra Pradesh, which has sent the largest number of Congress MPs in two successive elections, does not find a place in the reconstituted CWC.
