After months of deliberation, Congress has released a list of 75 secretaries and joint secretaries, reflecting the resolutions from the party’s ‘Udaipur Chintan Shivir’ held in May 2022. The list upholds the promise of having ’50 under 50′ leaders while also bringing in fresh faces with a mix of experience.
The list also includes 12 women, bearing the influence of Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi.
On Friday, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge approved the appointments of these secretaries and joint secretaries. While several leaders retained their positions, many new faces have emerged in this new team.
According to Congress sources, Kharge was eager to implement the resolutions of the Udaipur Nav Sankalp Shivir, focusing on providing representation to SC, ST, and OBC members in the new list.
Sources reveal that more than 60% of the representation in this newly announced team goes to SC, ST, and OBC members.
For the past year, Rahul Gandhi and Kharge have been vocal about increasing representation of SC, ST, and OBCs in government posts. The Congress party has also been pushing for a nationwide caste-based census.
The party has appointed Netta D’Souza, former Mahila Congress chief, Neeraj Kundan, former NSUI chief, and Naveen Sharma as organisation secretaries. They will be working with Congress General Secretary (Organisation) KC Venugopal.
Additionally, veteran leader Sharad Yadav’s daughter, Subhashini Yadav, has been named Secretary for Gujarat, while Divya Maderna is Secretary for Jammu and Kashmir, and Sarita Laitphalang is Secretary for Chhattisgarh.
Chiranjiv Rao, son-in-law of RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav and the son of senior Congress leader Captain Ajay Yadav, currently an MLA in Haryana, has been appointed Secretary for Rajasthan.
One of the party’s prominent spokespersons, Alok Sharma, has been appointed Secretary for Punjab. Pradeep Narwal and Dheeraj Gurjar, both close to Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, have been appointed Secretaries for Uttar Pradesh. Suraj Hegde, close to Rahul Gandhi, has been appointed Secretary in Tamil Nadu.
Manoj Tyagi has been named Joint Secretary of Administration. Tyagi is often seen with Rahul Gandhi and accompanied him during the Bharat Jodo Yatra and Bharat Jodo Nyay Yatra.
The party has also retained key figures such as Pranav Jha, currently working with Kharge and overseeing media relations, and Vineet Punia, among others, as secretaries.
At the Nav Sankalp Shivir in Udaipur, held from May 14 to 17, 2022, Congress adopted a transformation approach. During the Chintan Shivir, Rahul Gandhi emphasized the need to transform the Congress party—not in terms of ideology but in terms of the way the party operates.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, approved a detailed strategy for this transformation, focusing on strengthening the organization and preparing for upcoming elections.
The ’50 below 50′ formula was introduced to ensure younger leaders have greater representation, with 50% of posts reserved for those under 50, from the CWC down to booth-level committees.
The CWC also approved fixed tenure limits, capping office bearers’ terms at five years, and the ‘One Family, One Ticket’ rule.
To monitor and evaluate performance and ensure accountability, Congress has decided to establish three new departments.
