Chorus for larger role for Rahul grows

At the end of the 'chintan shivir' (brainstorming conclave), several Union Ministers, Chief Ministers and party leaders felt that an announcement about Rahul's new role could be out even as early as by tomorrow.

Talk is that Rahul, now a General Secretary, could be made the Working President or Secretary General so that he gets a higher profile for projection in the next Lok Sabha elections.

While a meeting of the Congress Working Committee is scheduled this evening, the AICC meeting here tomorrow will come out with a Jaipur Declaration.

"Wait till tomorrow", was the cryptic response of Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia when asked about a formal promotion to the young leader who is already number two in the party. "He is a mature leader and has been taking major decisions informally".

"We have been expecting it for long. It should have happened earlier", said Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan when asked whether Rahul was likely to be made Working President of the party tomorrow.

Insisting that the party needed to have a young leader to connect with the youth, he said that youth constituency is very important at a time when the majority of the population is below 45.

"For connecting with the youth, you have to speak a different language which is not possible for the people of previous generation", he said. (More)