Continuing to bring changes to his party, Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, 21 August, appointed senior leader Ahmed Patel as the party’s new treasurer.
Patel will be handling this coveted post, in place of Motilal Vora, who will now be the AICC general secretary administration, a newly created post.
Overhauling the ‘old guard’ of the party, Gandhi has carried out reshuffling for various other posts too.
Why Ahmed Patel?
Ahmed Patel, who is also known as Ahmed Bhai or simply AP, is a member of the Rajya Sabha. He is now assuming a high post in the party after two decades. Before this, he was the treasurer of the party from 1996 to 2000.
Notably, Gandhi gifted Patel the post of the treasurer on the day which happened to be his birthday.
In his career, Patel has also served as the political secretary of UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi – considered to be powerful post. And before Gandhi became the Congress president, Patel was considered to be the second-most powerful leader (after Sonia Gandhi) in the party.
He played a significant role in bringing Congress to power in the 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha elections.
In December 2017, after Gandhi was appointed party chief, questions were raised on the nature of Patel’s role in the former’s new team, with some at 24 Akbar Road debating that he would be sidelined. Nothing of that sort happened.
A Problem Solver
Over the last few months, Gandhi and his party members have said that Congress does not have enough election funds. Some state counterparts have alleged further that they haven’t even received funds from the Delhi headquarters for the daily functioning of the party.
According to a report published by Association for Dramatic Reforms (ADR), BJP announced funding for Rs 1,034 crores in 2016-17, while the Congress only 225 crores. Given the stark difference, the party once again remembered Ahmed Patel – the troubleshooter.
In July 2018, many names were missing from Gandhi’s new Congress Committee, like Janardan Dwivedi and Digvijay Singh, to name a few.
Ahmed Patel, however, was among the top names. His appointment as treasurer only proves how important he is to the party.
Moreover, it is believed that Patel would have a crucial role to play in the ‘do-or-die’ general elections in 2019.
It comes as no shock that the Congress would need a problem solver like Ahmed Patel, from funding to networking.
According to sources from the party, in addition to door-to-door collection, Patel has also appealed to party workers to help in increasing the pool of funds, something the Congress is in dire need of at the moment.
‘Old Guard’ Overhauled
Apart from Ahmed Patel, the roles for many other senior leaders have been changed.
- Motilal Vohra - General Secretary (administration)
- Anand Sharma - Chairman, Foreign Affairs Department
- Luizhinho Faleiro - General Secretary (North-East, except Assam)
- Meira Kumar - Permanent invitee member
(This story was first published on Quint Hindi)
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