Cong gives Ranjit the boot, Rau’s new chief

The AICC today appointed senior Congress leader Prabha Rau as the new Maharashtra PCC chief in place of Ranjit Deshumkh, asserting its supre...

The AICC today appointed senior Congress leader Prabha Rau as the new Maharashtra PCC chief in place of Ranjit Deshumkh, asserting its supremacy in the ongoing tussle with the party’s state unit.

Coming less than 36 hours after Deshmukh defied the AICC to organise a meeting of the executive committee of the PCC, Rau’s appointment clearly shows the Congress wants to nip the internal dissent in the bud, keeping in view the Assembly polls due later this year.

Deshmukh has been at loggerheads with the AICC general secretary in charge of Maharashtra, Vayalar Ravi, since the preparations for the Lok Sabha elections in March. He has also been vocal against the ‘‘potential damage’’ that the alliance with the NCP could do to the Congress’ prospects in the state.

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Claiming that he has been made a scapegoat for the Congress debacle in the Vidarbha region in the Lok Sabha elections, Deshmukh said CM Sushilkumar Shinde as well as Ravi should step down owning responsibility. Deshmukh said if the high command had fixed responsibility on him for the party’s debacle in the Vidarbha region, both Shinde and Ravi should also share the responsibility and quit their offices.

‘‘The first responsibility is that of the CM along with the party’s state in-charge, and the PCC chief is the third person who should be held responsible for the party’s poor performance,’’ Deshmukh said here.

He warned ‘that ‘if AICC in-charge Ravi is not replaced before the Assembly elections, Maharashtra will do a Kerala’’, where the party lost all seats in the recent polls.

Ravi, however, maintained, ‘‘The AICC leadership has been considering various names for the post for the last one month. We appreciate the services of Deshmukh. But keeping in view the coming elections, the party high command felt a new person was necessary.’’

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Post-polls, Deshmukh had reported to party president Sonia Gandhi that the alliance with the NCP had affected the Congress’ chances in Vidarbha. Deshmukh is a Maratha leader from the Vidarbha region, which has always been a Congress stronghold and could be crucial in the coming Assembly elections with 66 seats. The AICC, therefore, chose Rau, another Maratha leader from the region, to head the state unit, keeping in mind the importance of the region and also to counter the damage done by sacking Deshmukh.

Besides, Rau has been a staunch loyalist of the Gandhi family and is a veteran in state politics, though she lost by a narrow margin from Wardha in the recent Lok Sabha polls.

Also, by appointing Rau, the AICC has sent across the message that the party organisation must work in tandem with the government and the Chief Minister.