The missing second rung in Congress

New Delhi: The posts of All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries have been lying vacant in many states even as uncertainty prevails among those presently holding these positions.

For the past many months now, the posts of AICC secretaries have been lying vacant in Delhi, Haryana, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Puducherry and Ladakh.

The second rung of leadership is missing at a time when the 2024 Lok Sabha elections are barely a few weeks away and the Congress is still struggling to put its house in order.

To stay relevant in Indian politics, it is essential for the grand old party to win over 100 Lok Sabha seats in the upcoming polls.

In fact, those who are assisting the general secretaries and in-charges in other states are also uncertain about their future.

They don't know whether they will retain their posts and their assigned states or will be dropped or shifted.

There has been a talk for some time now that the number of secretaries will be reduced. At present, there are 60 AICC secretaries working across the country.

In the past, the figure had even touched the 80 mark and they were picked up by Rahul Gandhi, soon after taking over as the Congress president in December 2017, through a performance management and assessment process. The exercise stopped after he resigned from the post in May 2019 and since then the appointments have been made only on the recommendations of general secretaries and in-charges.