The All India Congress Committee (AICC) may initiate a slew of measures to quell dissidence in the faction-ridden Congress state unit which may include drafting one more general secretary to oversee Karnataka affairs and prepare the cadre for the Assembly elections scheduled for early next year.
Sources in the party said there is a precedent of appointing an additional general secretary for a state going to polls. Another reason could be the grouse of the Congress camp led by KPCC treasurer Shamanur Shivashankarappa that party chief Dr G. Parameshwar is being protected by AICC in-charge for Karnataka, Madhusudan Mistry. This group maintains that Mr Mistry may be divested of his responsibility of supervising Congress matters in the state.
However, party sources asserted that unless a major reshuffle happens at the AICC level, the top brass will not give in to the pressure of state leaders and change the responsibility given to an AICC general secretary. So, the possibility of Mistry being removed seems to be remote, they said.
“However, the party might appoint one more general secretary for Karnataka. In 2008, Prithviraj Chavan was the in-charge of Karnataka, however, the party sent in Digvijay Singh during assembly polls. During the parliament elections in 2009, Ghulam Nabi Azad was appointed to co-ordinate with Mr Chavan. Similarly, the party may appoint a general secretary quite early to quell dissidence and prepare the Congress for polls,” the sources explained.