‘Man of crisis mgmt’ Pandey to head Cong Screening Committee for Bihar polls

Principal Correspondent ;

Senior Congress Leader and former Member of Rajya Sabha Avinash Pandey is proving to be the man of crisis management for the Party. The Party has chosen him to head a three-member committee for the screening of candidates for the next legislative elections due soon in Bihar. Recently Avinash Pandey was sent by Congress Working Committee President Sonia Gandhi to Imphal, Manipur to understand the nature of political issues there and file a report, an assignment he has already completed. After his Rajasthan assignment was over, Avinash Pandey thus completed the Imphal assignment and is now on his way to Bihar.

The screening committee that Pandey is heading has Devendra Yadav and Qazi Nizamuddin as other members. Shaktisingh Gohil, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) in-charge of Bihar, Madan Mohan Jha, Pradesh Congress Committee President of Bihar and Sadanand Singh, Congress Legislative Party leader of Bihar will be Ex-Officio members of the Screening Committee. The letter signed by K C Venugopal, General Secretary of AICC has issued the above details.

The Screening Committee is considered as very important as far as Bihar elections are concerned. Pandey is expected to visit Bihar which he has already departed, take the stock of situation. He is also supposed to screen the probable candidates in Bihar from the Party. During last election, Nitish Kumar with Janata Dal (United) had joined hands with Congress. But later on he broke the alliance and formed the Government with Bharatiya Janata Party or National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Against this backdrop the Congress has to take decision can it ally with Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). The committee is expected to tap chances of forging alliance with Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party (LJP). The Screening Committee of whose Avinash Pandey is Chairman will prepare the report with suggestions and recommendations and submit the same with Sonia Gandhi. Avinash Pandey while talking to ‘The Hitavada’ has thanked Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi for showing faith in him and putting a bigger responsibility on his shoulder.