JUNE 3- Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, who is on a mission to bring in youth power to the Grand Old Party, is working to implement a proposal to introduce an ‘age bar’ for all office-bearers from block to Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) level.
According to the proposal, a block president should be aged between 35 and 50 years, district president between 35 and 55, and state presidents between 35 and 65. Sources say Rahul’s team has also recommended a fixed tenure for office-bearers, maximum of two-three years – to ensure opportunities for more members. The corporate style changes are a means to keep the party in tune with the changing times and part of a larger strategy called “Catch them young”.
However, the young leaders-inwaiting will be required to have a fixed level of experience to be eligible for the posts. A person aspiring to be block president should have worked at the grass-roots level at least three years, while a district president should have 10 years of field experience. An aspirant to the PCC chief’s chair should have 15 years of experience.
Rahul, who was anointed the party vice-president in January this year, has been very cautious in his endeavour to effect drastic changes in the party as he does not want to upset the old guard. In a bid to respect the sentiments of the seniors in the party, the Gandhi scion has been advocating a blend of youth and experience. Sources said Rahul’s primary focus, as of now, is to strengthen the party from block to PCC level. A source said Rahul wants to create a new line of leadership and that his efforts may bear fruit after a decade or so.
The source added that the initiative had been rendered important in the wake of a severe talent crunch in the party. After Rahul took charge of the Youth Congress after becoming AICC general secretary in 2007, the first thing he did was to democratise the youth bodies by holding free and fair elections.
Last year, Rahul had endorsed a proposal for “open membership” to the party, mooted by youth leaders such as Meenakshi Natarajan, P.C. Vishnunath and D.V. Vinod Krishna, with a view to woo more youngsters. This was the first time a youth organisation had opted for an open-membership system.
Any aspiring member can now fill up an online application for free. However, Rs.15 will be charged for offline application; Rs.5 for SC/ST candidates.
The applicant should be aged between 18 and 35 years and should have a personal mobile number which will be recognised as his username.
