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Himachal Pradesh
By Javed M. Ansari
NEW DELHI JUNE 30. A three-day "Vichar Manthan Shivir'' of the Congress beginning in Shimla from July 7, promises new ideas and new faces. "The idea is to use the meet to introduce new talent and allow them to get into the thick of things,'' the AICC general secretary, Ambika Soni, said. All general secretaries have been asked to identify at least five to ten partymen, preferably in the age group of 35 to 50. The party president, Sonia Gandhi, has instructed the general secretaries to look out for bright youth with leadership potential, especially from amongst the weaker sections. Significantly, the party also plans to issue a declaration— "Shimla Sankalp." It will be drawn up at the conclusion the "shivir," and will, for all practical purposes signal the Congress' bugle for the next elections. The party leadership is acutely aware of the need to induct both fresh blood and ideas into the party which will acceptable to the new generation of Indians who incidentally constitute nearly 50 per cent of the electorate. The apex decision making bodies— the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and the Central election Committee (CEC) — are packed with members well into their seventies. The leadership is also keen on keeping the group that attends the Shimla session as compact and lean as possible. In contrast to the Pachmarhi conclave in 1998 which was attended by nearly 500 delegates, this time a conscious effort is being made to keep it as tight as possible. "We are looking at a number between 220 and 250," a senior leader said. Invitations for the "shivir'' are being sent to all the CWC, CEC, PAC members, PCC chiefs and CLP leaders, AICC office bearers and frontal chiefs. The Shimla meet is the third such conclave that the party will be holding. The first was held in Narora in 1975 under the presidentship of D.K. Baroah. The second one was held in the September of 1998 at Pachmarhi after Indira Gandhi took over the presidentship of the party. The participants for the "Shimla shivir" have been asked to come prepared to "discuss at great depth and detail subjects'' such as Congress and political challenges," "Congress and rural transformation," Congress and people oriented governance, and Congress election and preparedness and organisational reforms. The sub-committees entrusted with the job of preparing the position papers on these subjects have already submitted them to the coordination committee, headed by the party leader, Pranab Mukherjee. Once the documents are vetted by the committee they will be sent to the party president for approval. The participants will be divided into five different groups to discuss the position papers. The outcome of these deliberations will then form the basis of the "Shimla declaration."
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