New Delhi, In a move to bring about changes in the party and to strike a balance between the organization and the government ahead of the assembly and general elections, the Congress president Sonia Gandhi is reported to have made up her mind to bring former J&K chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and current home minister Shivraj Patil into the party organization as vice-presidents.
Patil, who has been facing strong opposition from almost all quarters for his (mis) handling of the affairs of the home ministry is likely to be replaced by finance minister P Chidmabaram. There are indications that new Rajya Sabha member and former chairman of Reserve Bank of India C Rangarajan could be entrusted with the responsibility of running the affairs of the finance ministry.
Azad is being brought back to the party for his amazing organizational skills. For a long time he has been looking after the affairs of the party and has been instrumental in bringing back Congress into power in Andhra Pradesh after a gap of a decade.
He had also received praises for streamlining the frontal organizations namely the Indian Youth Congress and National Students Union of India. Congress bounced back to power when he was the party general secretary in charge of Maharashtra and after his stint as party president in the strife-torn state of Jammu and Kashmir.
A good-humoured Azad has also earned the distinction of becoming one of the members of the Congress Working Committee who had stood first when contest took place in Kolkata session of the party.
The senior Congress leaders are of the view that further continuation of Patil as home minister would mar party electoral prospects ahead of the elections, as he has been an utter failure during his stint in dealing with the security related issues particularly the terror strikes that have rocked the country many times during last four years.
Chidambaram may also be shifted, as he has been held responsible by the opposition and the Left parties for failing to control the inflation that has touched two digit in the recent past and is not showing up signs of decline in near future. A change in the finance ministry is being described as cosmopolitan to woo electorates.
Rangarajan has been a close aide of the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is well known for his integrity and ability in running the financial affairs of the government.