Sonia Gandi, Prime Minister to make changes after January 14

Congress president Sonia Gandhi is going for the weekend 3- day plenary session of the party on the outskirts of Delhi with the old team, leaving selection of new office-bearers and formation of the Congress Working Committee ( CWC) only in the auspicious period after Makarsankranti on January 14.

The Union Ministry’s reshuffle also appears to coincide with the new team Sonia has to pick up for running the organisation. Wanting more dynamic ministers to put infrastructure projects like roads on the fast track, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is believed to have already indicated to her names of some not delivering in the infrastructure ministries who can be spared to take up party responsibilities.

Among them are Surface Transport Minister Kamal Nath, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde and Heavy Industries Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Sources in the PMO say Dr Manmohan Singh is also not happy with the performance of two other infrastructure ministers - Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, a former Himachal chief minister, and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal.

Another minister who has earned the Prime Minister’s ire is Commerce Minister Anand Sharma who took him to Brussels and Berlin last week without doing the homework as the trip was a total waste since the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the 27- nation European Union was put off to March- April and Germany won’t play game until the FTA comes through. The PM returned blank, without getting the EU’s nod to allow export of the lowcost life saving generic medicines in which India excels in manufacturing.

Anand Sharma is, however, among a handful who are ready to put their neck out for Sonia and hence she would be too happy to get him in an important position in the party, though sources said she would prevail upon the PM not to dislodge him from the government.

An expectation that Sonia constitutes the new CWC, as authorised by the one- day AICC session here, by Friday was dashed by party general secretary Oscar Fernandes

on Wednesday, saying the same old CWC that was converted into a steering committee will become the subject committee on Saturday to draft four resolutions for the plenary. Appointment of the presidents of some of the state units that are pending as well the new CWC members will come only after the plenary, Fernandes said while giving an overview of the preparations made for the 83rd plenary to be attended by over 13,000 party members, including 1250 AICC delegates, from across the country.

Some 6000 of them will stay in tents pitched on the Burari Grounds, the venue of the meet, he said. The plenary begins on Sunday with pre- elect party president Sonia Gandhi escorted to dais in a ceremonial procession.

The first resolution that the party will take up for consideration that day is on the 125th anniversary of the Indian National Congress. Three other resolutions being lined up are: Political situation, Economic Situation and International affairs. The AICC is agog with speculation that Sonia wants a better team to assist her in making the party stronger in states and as such she may draft Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad or Information and Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni or both in the organisation as the general secretaries.