Ahmedabad Rahul Gandhi’s idea to bring new faces to the political centrestage by organising the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) elections has not yielded great results in Gujarat. Most of the winners in the state are the sons or daughters of the party leaders.

After spending Rs 3 crore on the elections, in which 2,192 candidates slogged for over two months, things have not changed much in the state, said sources.

According to sources in the Gujarat Youth Congress, the victors include: Nirav, son of the Opposition leader in the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, Surendra Bakshi; Rajesh, son of late senior Congress leader Praveen Bhrahmbhatt; Naimesh, son of Patan MLA Jagdish Thakore;

Sangramsinh, son of Minister of State for Railways Naran Rathwa; and Karan, son of municipal counsellor Kishansinh Tomar, among others.

A Youth Congress member said on condition of anonymity: “This is just a beginning. For the first time, elections have been conducted. Some common candidates have come ahead, but it will take time for the common people to fight elections and come forward.”

But there have been some exceptions as well.

For instance, Kartik Yadav, a candidate who won from Vatva, is a new face. Moreover, Jagdish Chauhan, a professor, has also emerged victorious in the polls.

The elections for Youth Congress were conducted in phases.

In the first phase, the elections were held in Punjab. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi had supervised the polls directly.

Rahul visited Gujarat three times during the membership drive held by the Youth Congress.

Over seven lakh members were registered by the Youth Congress in the state by February 28, 2009.

One of the main objectives of the exercise was to channelise the youth power, said party sources.

Source: expressindia