Union Minister of State for Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot and party MP Arun Yadav were appointed Congress chiefs of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh on Monday, marking a generational shift in the politics of the two States where the party was routed in the recent Assembly elections.
Mr Pilot is just 36, and Mr. Yadav — who was Union MoS for Heavy Industries and then for agriculture between 2009 and 2011 — will turn 40 in two days.
The appointment of these two MPs, coming as it does in the wake of 45-year-old Arvinder Singh Lovely’s appointment as Delhi State chief, is part of Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s long-term plan of bringing in younger people to rebuild the party.
It also comes amidst an effort by the party leadership to appoint 37-year-old former Youth Congress chief and MP Ashok Tanwar as Haryana State chief, but so far senior leaders are resisting the attempt.
Second generation leaders
Both Mr. Pilot and Mr. Yadav are second generation leaders, sons of former Union Minister Rajesh Pilot and former Madhya Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Subhash Yadav respectively.
Mr. Pilot and Mr. Yadav have their work cut out for them — the Congress recorded its worst-ever performance, securing just 21 of the 200 Assembly seats in Rajasthan, and just 58 seats in Madhya Pradesh. In M.P., it was the party’s third consecutive defeat.
Mr. Pilot replaces Mr. Chandrabhan, who himself lost in the Assembly polls, while Mr. Yadav takes the place of former Union Tribal Affairs Minister Kantilal Bhuria.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr Pilot said: “My first task will be to re-motivate the workers and rebuild the party brick-by-brick from the grass-roots level. It is an enormous challenge.”
