Cong names Joshi, Maken in high-power coordination committee

Congress today brought in senior leaders C P Joshi and Ajay Maken into the party's high-power coordination committee headed by Rahul Gandhi for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
With their addition, the number of members of the committee, set up in November 2012, has gone up to eight.
Rahul was elevated as the party's Vice President at Congress Chintan Shivir in Jaipur in January. His heading the committee was interpreted as a clear signal for his larger role in the party then.
Senior leaders Ahmed Patel, Janardan Dwivedi, Digvijay Singh, Madhusudan Mistry and Jairam Ramesh are other members of the panel.

In November, the party had also announced setting up of three sub-groups, including one on the key issue of pre-poll alliances, which is headed by senior leader A K Antony.
Party General Secretary Digvijay Singh and Union minister Ramesh have been added to the crucial sub-group on alliances, which also has M Veerappa Moily, Mukul Wasnik, Suresh Pachouri, Jitendra Singh and Mohan Prakash as its members, AICC general secretary in-charge of Organisation Dwivedi told PTI.

Party ideologue Mohan Gopal, a special invitee to this committee, has now been elevated as a member.
Other two sub-groups set up then were the manifesto and government programmes sub group, also headed by Antony and the communications and publicity sub-group, chaired by Digvijay.

Rahul had announced the setting up of the coordination group and sub-groups with specific tasks at the party's Samvad Baithak on November 9 at Surajkund last year, saying that "with a year and half left for the Lok Sabha elections, both party and government will have to work cohesively together to ensure that we secure a renewed mandate".