The All India Congress Committee (AICC) announced its new, jumbo 387-member Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) on Wednesday and it includes over 65 leaders from Vidarbha. Meanwhile, barring a few new faces, the party list does not include any new names, showing that it still relies on the old guns to do the job.

 

The new body includes a 36-member political affairs committee, 16 senior vice-presidents, 38 vice-presidents, five senior spokespersons, 108 general secretaries, 95 secretaries and 87 executive committee members. MPCC’s new Political Affairs Committee and Executive Committee include Harshwardhan Sapkal (Buldhana), Vijay Wadettiwar (Brahmapuri), Mukul Wasnik, Avinash Pandey, Manikrao Thakre (Yavatmal), Nana Patole (Bhandara), Sunil Kedar(Saoner), Dr Nitin Raut, Yashomati Thakur (Amravati), Shivajirao Moghe (Yavatmal), Vasant Purke (Yavatmal), Pratibha Dhanorkar (Chandrapur), Shyamkumar Barve (Ramtek), Dr Namdeo Kirsan (Gadchiroli), Prashant Padole (Bhandara), Dr Nitin Raut, Vikas Thakre, Dhiraj Lingade (Amravati), Sanjay Meshram (Umred), Sudhakar Adbale (Chandrapur), Vilas Muttemwar, Vijay Darda, Ramkishan Ojha, Prafulla Gudadhe Patil, Nitin Kumbhalkar, Subhash Dhote, Satish Chaturvedi and Dipak Katole. Abhijeet Wanjari, who won the Nagpur Graduates’ constituency election, has been elevated to Senior Vice-President’s role along with Dr Wajahat Mirza (Akola), Anees Ahmed, Nana Gawande, Rajendra Mulak and Ranjit Kamble (Wardha). Ashok Dhawad, Adv Asif Quereshi, Kishor Kanhere, Sandhya Sawwalakhe (Yavatmal), Suresh Bhoyar (Kamptee), Takshshila Waghdhare, Virendra Jagtap (Chandur Railway) and Vishal Muttemwar have also been made Vice-Presidents. Abhijeet Sapkal, Atul Kotecha, Satish Warjukar, Haider Ali Dosani, Girish Pandav, Ketan Vikas Thakre, Kunal Raut, Kunda Raut (ex-Nagpur Zilla Parishad Vice President), Adv Nanda Parate, Prasanna Tidke, Sandesh Singalkar, Sanjay Dube, Shakur Nagani (Kamptee), Umakant Agnihotri, Yadnyawalkya Jichkar have been made General Secretaries. Ketan Thakre, Kunal Raut, Sanjay Dube and Yadnyavalkya Jichkar are the new faces in the list of general secretaries.

 

Among secretaries, Abhyuday Meghe (Wardha), Avantika Lekurwale, both from Vidarbha, are the new entrants in the executive body. Prakash Wasu has once again been chosen by the party. Sanjay Dube is another important name for Congress in Vidarbha who will be working as General Secretary. Suresh Jagyasi and Vishwajit Kowase (Gadchiroli) have been made secretaries. From among district congress comittees, Ashwin Bais figures from Nagpur rural.

 

 

 Ketan Vikas Thakre and Kunal Nitin Raut, are the two young politicians who found place in the MPCC announced by AICC. Ketan is son of MLA and Congress City President Vikas Thakre while Kunal is son of former minister Dr Nitin Raut. Kunal Raut had won the state Youth Congress President polls while Ketan is known for his organisational skills who handled poll management of his father during Lok Sabha and Assembly both.

 

 

 The All India Congress Committee (AICC) has made a conscious effort to empower women within the party by giving them prominent roles in the mainstream organisation. This move is seen as a step towards greater representation and inclusion of women in decision-making process. Till now, most members working in Women’s Wing have been placed in mainstream committee. Members like Sandhya Sawwalakhe, Yashomati Thakur, Takshshila Waghdhare, Avantika Lekurwale, Kunda Raut, Adv Nanda Parate will be playing key roles in the organisation. This move can be seen as a step towards empowering women within the party, allowing them to take on more leadership roles and responsibilities. This experiment could potentially lead to a more inclusive and diverse leadership structure within the Congress party. The AICC's experiment with empowering women and relying on experienced leaders may have implications for the party's future performance and leadership dynamics. It will be interesting to see how these moves play out in the coming months and years.