Patel’s new team likely to be announced after Aug 15

Raipur, July 18, 2011

The PCC president Nandkumar Patel, who was hoping to get his new team by July end, will have to wait for some more time because the second list of district congress committee (DCC) presidents is likely to be delayed further with controversy sparking off after announcement of the first list. Sources say that constitution of Patel’s new team will take no less than another 25-30 days as the party’s top brasses would have to do brainstorming exercise in truncating the jumbo sized existing PCC working committee from 140 to 41 keeping “please all” factor in mind.

The party knows that ‘figure-41’ would be the radical part of its ‘mission 2013 strategy’ (when state will have Assembly polls) and hence it would have challenging task to pick apt candidates who could devotedly start working for consolidation of the organisation from Day One till the D-day.

According to information, there is a long list of recommended candidates from different factions and senior leaders, therefore the party supremo has entrusted the job of sieving the final 41 to organisational affairs incharge Oscar Fernandes.

But prior to this job, Fernandes will first finalise the second list of DCC presidents which will be recommended and forwarded by Chhattisgarh Congress general secretary incharge BK Hariprasada and state election incharge Viplove Thakur.  For this, the duo will reach Raipur on July 24 to do the ‘candidate filtration work’.

After announcing 11 DCC heads giving significance to few inputs, the party bosses drew flak from own fellow leaders. Now, they are in no mood to repeat the same episode. Rather, Hariprasada and Thakur would do every bit to ensure representation of recommended candidates by disgruntled factions. Besides, they would not dare to neglect Mahant and Vora factors as one has recently become union minister while the other is AICC treasurer.

Therefore, sources said, the second list of DCC presidents would take fairly extended time which might consequently push the probable date of announcement of PCC team after Independence Day.