NEW DELHI: Come winter session, all eyes would be on the babalog of Congress. The long file of young MPs had trudged into Parliament precincts raising hope in the summer of 2009 but the 15th Lok Sabha may culminate without they having set politics or governance on fire.

The prospect of another set of pedigreed youngsters debuting in 2014 has triggered debate in Congress circles if they are worth the hype. Most point to the uneventful tenure spent by young MPs who trooped in as the symbol of GenNext of Congress.

The joke in Congress is “Pal helpline”. The party on many key occasions fell back on MP Jagdambika Pal to speak on debates. A senior leader of UP politics but a first-term MP, Pal stumbled in his initial attempt on Liberhan report. PC Chacko also spoke on many occasions. The query asked all along was “where is the youth brigade?”

That babalog were pushed into ministries made it difficult to test their talent. As ministers of state, with little departmental work, they could not be assessed on performance, even as they stood barred from participating in Parliament proceedings. Some call them lucky that the ministerial perch helped them escape fair evaluation on capabilities that others are subjected to. The view is that whatever the reasons, there was little on display to justify their top billing.

Doors though have opened for the future. After initial grounding, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Sachin Pilot and Jitendra Singh were elevated to "independent ministers" that marked a leg-up for the youngsters as also for non-pedigreed Manish Tewari, who occupies the key I&B ministry. They are virtually the face of the Congress future.

The pedigree-commoner mix of junior ministers – Jitin Prasada , RPN Singh, Pradeep Jain, Milind Deora, Tusharbai Chaudhari, Prateek Patil, KC Venugopal, Lal Chand Kataria – however could neither be tested in politics nor in ministerial competence. They have remained largely anonymous. Some, however, are making up with a late charge on TV, holding the party brief.

Not made ministers, Jyoti Mirdha and Meenakshi Natarajan have shown promise with their articulation and depth on social and industrial issues. But opportunities given to them have been few. Mirdha has earned respect with her persistent efforts to introduce ethics in pharma sector and her strong views on drug pricing.

It is all boiling down to what happens in 2014. Those who succeed in returning to Parliament will cement their upward graph in party hierarchy while a stumble will test their ability to stay relevant.

With assessment time looming, a strong section in Congress believes that young MPs should have been tested on the floor of Parliament and streets of their constituencies and not made ministers, a decision taken as a prelude to groom them so that they can hit the ground running under Rahul Gandhi.

