NEW DELHI: Congress veteran Ahmed Patel is the new treasurer of the party, an appointment that marks the formal accommodation of the former political secretary to Sonia Gandhi under new chief Rahul Gandhi .

Patel - who replaces octogenarian Motilal Vora who occupied the key All India Congress Committee post for almost 18 years - had a stint as treasurer under the party presidency of Sitaram Kesri.

The appointment triggered widespread discussion in the opposition party. As political secretary to the then Congress chief and chairman of the ruling alliance, Patel was the go-to man during UPA's decade in power. But post-2014, with Rahul Gandhi calling the shots, speculations have been rife that he was out of favour - a belief that Tuesday's announcement will put to rest.

Interestingly, Patel's appointment came on his 69th birthday, seen as a personal touch from the Gandhi scion.

Sources said he was offered the post some time ago. While he was initially not keen to handle the responsibility, he was persuaded to accept it.

To many, it marks the ultimate evidence that Rahul is pursuing the policy of maintaining a balance between the GenNext and the "old guard" in running the party.

Motilal Vora has been made the AICC general secretary in-charge of administration, a post created just to provide him a respectable exit.

