After Venugopal Who Will Steer Rahul?

Congress is a party that epitomises the idea of how drastically weak leadership can impact a party’s position in an ever-changing political landscape. No matter how much the air shifts, Congress is one party that only fights to stay relevant. Rahul Gandhi, the primary face of the party who for the longest time has KC Venugopal as his close political associate. Venugopal’s sheer ability to fathom the ground reality and political experience has enabled Rahul Gandhi to create some momentous impact and tough oppositional stance in front of the government, a top source said.

Now, as KC Venugopal’s long political tenure may be nearing an end, this becomes a concerning matter for Rahul because, as imperative as it is, it’s also difficult to find someone as eligible to fill in Venugopal’s shoes. Not only to Rahul but Venugopal was a dependable organisational aide to the party too. His career started in April 2017 as Congress General Secretary and was also given charge of Karnataka. With time, Venugopal became responsible for greater party decisions, a top source said.

An internal reconstruction of the Congress has been pending for quite a while. Despite constant efforts, the party has not been able to emerge from a slump in broader polls. Therefore, a party revamp has become an essential need of the hour for Congress. Amid this reshuffle, Rahul needs to find someone as capable as Venugopal to pass the baton. Three names are reportedly in consideration: Ashok Gehlot, who is considered to be Sonia Gandhi’s preferred choice, Kamal Nath, as per the seniority and Bhanwar Jitendra Singh, whom Rahul is said to personally favour, a top source said.

Simultaneously, Venugopal himself has been surrounded by Keralam politics where his name is also among the contenders for who will be the CM of Keralam. Multiple key huddles and high command meetings are taking place; however, no clarity has been able to come out yet. It’s been 10 days since the verdict, and still no one knows who will be crowned on Keralam’s throne. Venugopal has been in the hot seat in Keralam power corridors, as many Congress leaders see him becoming inaccessible while working in Delhi. His closeness with Gandhi family is opening doors for lot of flak to come in because party cadre back in Keralam seems to find him distant or ignorant. Critics within the party say that earlier General Secretaries used to operate as independent power centres and troubleshooters whereas Venugopal has become a mere shadow of Rahul Gandhi and not managing party machinery independently, top source said.

Hence, that is the reason Sonia Gandhi’s primary focus is on Ashok Gehlot to play the role of crisis manager and strengthen the party in difficult times.