Pranab aide likely to be PCC chief
The race is on for the post of West Bengal PCC chief. Union finance minister Pranab Mukherjee’s political secretary Pradyut Guha, apparently, has an edge over the other candidate, Mr Pradeep Bhattacharya.
The post for the Bengal PCC chief fell vacant after Mr Manas Bhunia was inducted as a minister in the Mamata Cabinet in West Bengal. The decision for Bengal PCC chief is likely to be taken by Saturday.
Sources disclosed that Mr Guha, who had a long political stint in Bengal, was being backed by the Congress leadership, Mr Bhuiyan and the Union finance minister.
A meeting between the Congress brass which include, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, Mr Ahmed Patel and Mr Shakeel Ahmed, incharge of Bengal affairs, will be held on Friday to decide Bengal PCC chief.
Mr Guha, who has been with the finance minister since 2004 had also been the PCC general secretary for 11 years under three former PCC chiefs, Mr Soumen Mitra, A.B.A. Ghani Khan Chowdhury and Mr Pranab Mukherjee.
He was also the state youth Congress president for five years from 1985. In 1990, he became the general secretary of Indian Youth Congress.
He was elected as AICC member in 1992. Mr Guha had began his political career in students politics in 1969.
When contacted, Mr Guha said: “I want to return to Bengal. We shall work in close coordination with the Mamata government and at the same time strengthen the party and hands of Soniaji in Bengal.”
He felt that the “party in Bengal needs to be strengthened and plenty of work is to be done.” Mr Guha said that he “believes in constructive work.”
Mr Guha’s camp claimed that he “would be the man for the job, since being the political secretary of the Union finance minister, he has been in touch with virtually all the Congress leaders and functionaries across the country.”
On the other hand, Mr Bhattacharya, who was the working president, when Mr Mukherjee was heading Bengal PCC was also lobbying hard for the post.
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