Congress leader Rahul Gandhi

NEW DELHI: Congress is mulling an organisational reshuffle in the coming months, a plan that has triggered strong buzz among insiders about its sweep with many wondering if it could be a generational makeover.

If it happens, it would be the first rejig of office-bearers in the central party unit under the watch of Sonia Gandhi who recently returned to the Congress helm as ‘interim president’, two years after she passed the baton to son Rahul Gandhi .

Well-placed party sources said a reshuffle was under discussion and a decision would be taken soon. “It can be big and it may not be so big. Nothing is final yet,” a senior party leader said as a caveat against any drastic conclusion.

With the talk of rejig reaching Congress leaders, speculation is rife about its scale. As it is being planned in the wake of the second successive Lok Sabha election disaster and after Rahul resigned as party chief owning “moral responsibility”, many wonder if it would be a largescale makeover.

Indications of organisational overhaul are invariably seen in terms of generational change, with ‘GenNext vs Old Guard’ being the running theme since Rahul’s advent. It is to be seen if it becomes another jab at infusing young blood in the AICC and in state units.

With Sonia forced by the party to take over as interim president after Rahul refused to take back his resignation which he announced two days after the Lok Sabha mauling, the question looms about when a full-time president would return to steer Congress.

It is reliably learnt that the AICC has been looking at an earlier decision of the Congress Working Committee to reduce the term of the organisation, which includes the party chief, from five years to three years. While the 2018 decision was never ratified, it has remained in the books.

The dormant decision would suggest that party elections be held in 2020.

Though it is believed that Sonia would remain at the helm till the assembly elections next year, which include Delhi, a full-time president would then have to be put in place. There are indications that Rahul would return as Congress president. The Gandhi scion has not yet spoken on the issue of his again taking the leadership but influential insiders and party leaders have begun to raise the demand in public.

“There is pressure from our workers that Rahul Gandhi should come back. There is unanimity on this,” a senior leader said.

