New Delhi OUTSIDE 10, Janpath last Tuesday when AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan declared Omar Abdullah, 38, as the next Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir, the adjacent Congress headquarters was abuzz with talks about Omar’s friendship with AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi who is younger to the NC chief by 100 days.
Congress leaders conceded that it was this friendship that paved the way for Congress-NC coalition. As per the original plan, Farooq Abdullah was to land in Delhi on Monday to talk to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, but the Congress wouldn’t agree. Omar finally reached the Capital in the evening by a special aircraft.
Asked on Wednesday whether Farooq was replaced by Omar under Congress pressure, AICC spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi said, “Obviously, it’s a decision on which both coalition partners were consulted. It is not antagonistic as you are suggesting, but collaborative, constructive and consensual effort by both partners.”
According to Congress sources, while former chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, a friend of Abdullah family, played a key role in negotiations with the NC, it was Rahul’s backing that was the clincher for Omar.
Since his appointment as AICC general secretary in September 2007, it was not often that the Amethi MP played such a pro-active role on crucial issues. Congress leaders watching him closely in the past 15 months believe that 2009 will mark a defining year for the young scion of the Nehru-Gandhi family who now looks more confident and eager to assert his authority on the party’s policies.
Early half of his tenure as AICC general secretary was marked by diffidence. He had, for instance, always been an ardent advocate of Indo-US civil nuclear deal, but chose to remain quiet during all those turbulent months for the Left-supported UPA Government.
He spoke out only after Congress president Sonia Gandhi rallied her party behind PM Manmohan Singh to face a trust vote on July 22 in the Lok Sabha. In fact, a changing Rahul was evident during the weeks leading to the trust vote; the Amethi MP had taken the initiative to call up SP leader Amar Singh, which finally led to a rapprochement between the Congress and SP.
Rahul used to do most of his talking at meetings of the Group to Look into Future Challenges, a think tank set up after his induction in the organisation. He would, for instance, harp on introducing “internal democracy” in the party. His attempt to hold election in Punjab unit of the IYC and in Uttarakhand unit of the NSUI has met with disapproval from his party colleagues. In the past 15 months, the only contribution of this group has been to produce a report on intra-party reforms, which has been gathering dust in Congress president’s office.
The past six months has been a period of gradual transformation though. His remarks about Pakistan giving a “slap on our face” through Mumbai terror attacks at the recent CWC meeting came as a surprise to many. He has also been taking increasing interest in key appointments. Rahul was learnt to have tilted the scales in favour of Ashok Chavan as Maharashtra CM.
Congress sources said there were clear indications that Rahul Gandhi, who has been trying to build his own team instead of relying on Old Guards, was gearing up to play a more pro-active role in the organisation.
Source: http://www.indiavilas.com/redir.asp?l=http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?j1752540690
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