Race for post of APCC chief hots up amid hectic lobbying

GUWAHATI: The sudden demise of former state Congress president Anjan Dutta has triggered hectic lobbying by a large number of aspirants for the top post of the Pradesh Congress Committee.
From religious background to community - everything, but the vital factor of efficiency, features in the discussions about the name of the next PCC president. While some of the aspirants are looking to gain support from the AICC headquarters in New Delhi, others are holding parleys in separate groups at different locations in the city.
But for the high command of the party, which was routed by BJP in the April election after 15 years of unbroken rule in the state, the criteria for selection of the next state president would go beyond just religion background or community.
"The high command will be looking for a person who is capable of not just leading the party but also re-building it from scratch after the election debacle. The person could be a new face or a senior member, but certainly a dynamic one, strong enough to make the party bounce back before the next Lok Sabha election in 2019," a source said.
The source said the high command will be banking more on feedback from the state workers than from the central leaders at AICC.
Shaken by the humiliating defeat in the assembly election, the high command's first correctional measure was to name a relatively new and young face, two-time MLA and former party stalwart Hiteswar Saikia's son Debabrata as leader of the Congress Legislature Party, ignoring all other senior party legislators, including former chief minister Tarun Gogoi.
The party, in its defeat in the assembly election, has learnt some valuable lessons, expected to be the deciding factors in selection of the new president.
"The party has lost its support in tea and minority domains and only a strong leadership can ensure that the party regains trust. The party also needs to make fresh initiatives for its revival in the Bodo area," the source said.