Right ahead of the much awaited crucial assembly polls in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Chhattisgarh, Congress supremo Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday constituted the party's revamped Central Election Committee with 16 members including himself and former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
Several new names this time have found place in the Central Election Committee announced by Karge while many veterans' names have been dropped to make place for the fresh faces.
Why is the panel needed?
The primary function of the committee is to discuss, shortlist and finalise the list of Congress candidates for any parliamentary or state elections, including bypolls.
Who all are dropped?
Previously, the Congress CEC included former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Manmohan Singh, Rahul Gandhi, Antony, Ambika Soni, Girija Vyas, Dwivedi, Moily, Mukul Wasnik and Mohsina Kidwai besides general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal.
Barring the Gandhis, Soni and Venugopal, this time, all the other names have been dropped from the new CEC.
New names for the CEC
The list of the new entrants include Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister T S Singh Deo, former Union minister Salman Khurshid and Lok Sabha MP from Telangana Uttam Kumar Reddy and nataka minister K J George.Former Uttarakhand Congress chief Pritam Singh, Bihar MP Mohammed Jawed and Rajya Sabha MP Amee Yajnik, besides former MP P L Punia and Madhya Pradesh Congress leader Omkar Markam, have also been included as members of the all-important panel.
Besides the new faces, the central election committee also included other prominent members including leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, and veteran party leaders Ambika Soni and Madhusudan Mistry.
