On March 21, when Rahul Gandhi was interacting with the office-bearers of Unorganised Workers’ Congress — the party’s wing for workers in the informal sector — its south India head S.S. Prakasham bluntly asked him if someone like him could hope for a ticket in the upcoming Karnataka elections.
The Congress chief then promised that his party would give voice to the unorganised sector and ensure political participation in state legislatures as well as national politics.
“Rahul ji made it clear that the Congress will empower unorganised workers in the following ways: connect them with technology and policies; give them voice in politics; and allow leadership from these sections emerge so that they can more effectively articulate the problems pertaining to the informal sector,” said Arbind Singh, national president of the All India Unorganised Congress (AIUC).
Many in the Congress are now talking about an “empty stage” approach, a reference to what Mr. Gandhi said on March 18 during his speech at the Congress plenary. Calling the youth to join the party, he said: “Look at this stage and compare with such political meetings of all the parties. You would not find a more empty stage like this one. I have cleared it for you.”
New appointments under Mr. Gandhi’s stewardship seem to indicate a shift towards choosing people without any political lineage.
On Saturday, Mr. Gandhi appointed Chandan Yadav, a doctorate in linguistics from JNU, as a national secretary for the election-bound Chhattisgarh.
Two-term Maharashtra MLA Yashomati Thakur has been asked to be help the party in its Karnataka campaign.
On Friday, in the midst of far-reaching changes, the Congress chief appointed Lalji Desai, a farmer leader from Gujarat, as the head of the Congress Seva Dal.
Earlier, Chhattisgarh MP Tamradhwaj Sahu, was appointed to head the party’s OBC department while former NSUI member Pranav Jha was appointed a secretary in the media department.
“In all these appointments, there is one thing common. Unlike earlier practice, they have been appointed without any recommendations,” said a young leader of the party.
