Will old Congress horses pave way for Rahul Gandhi-led young guns?

Rumor mills are abuzz that taking cue from BJP, Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi will soon bring an extensive organisational overhaul in the party where veterans will be told to make way for Gen Next. As per reports, these new leaders will be handpicked by Rahul Gandhi himself.

The general secretaries and state in-charges, are likely be dropped from the Party and the Congress Working Committee (CWC), is also expected to see a generational shift.

A Congress leader close to Rahul told a leading news daily on condition of anonymity that roles of senior party leaders will be changed the way BJP leaders LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were given the responsibility of guiding the party.

After Congress party's drubbing in the recently concluded Lok Sabha elections, dissent within the party has become an everyday affair concerning the party's leadership and the manner in which the elections were strategised.

Earlier also there have been reports of infighting in Congress and that too because of clashes in thoughts of the old guard and the new generation.

After the worst ever poll debacle of Congress in 2014 Lok Sabha poll, the old guard held the new generation responsible for it and the Gen Next held the old guard responsible.

Old guards are considered closer to the Congress president Sonia Gandhi while the young brigade seems to be favourite of vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Congress also showing seniors the doors

When the BJP's decided to drop LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi from its Parliamentary Board and make them part of the newly-formed ‘Margdarshak Mandal,' the opposition threw sharp barbs at BJP.

The Congress said that BJP has put its veterans in an old-age home. Congress leader Rashid Alvi said, "It is a mookdarshak mandal (mute spectator board). It is like an old-age home from where Advani and Joshi will witness the functioning of BJP like mutes. We were all aware that they are being sidelined".

Now what happened to Congress? Why is it trying to do a BJP when earlier it had not left a chance to criticise BJP. Is the Congress now thinking that the old guards are of no use anymore? Or is it a reply to the old brigade who had earlier put the onus on Rahul Gandhi's brigade for the failure of Congress in the Lok Sabla polls.

Old guards criticised Rahul - is it the after effect of that?

Rahul Gandhi was severely criticised by many leaders mostly by old guards for debacle in Parliamentary poll as he was chief poll campaigner in them. Some openly took cudgel against him while some did it in a very astute and diplomatic manner.

Are these whispers which are coming to our ears a reply to the earlier attack made by the oldies?

Reflects the one-upmanship in the party

The old leaders have maximum say in the party and the decisions are more or less takn by them. But the same old leaders criticised Rahul Gandhi too. Is it because of this that the Junior Gandhi has decided to remove the old brigade so that he can have maximum say in the Party?

Or is it Rahul Gandhi's new card which he wants to play to regain people's trust by saying and depicting that his party is the party of the young. And youth can understand things better?

Whatever may be the reason for replacing the old brigade with the young one, the thing is that Congress has fallen into its own trap and what is to be seen is how will they justify it now.