Chennai: In a major triumph for the ‘Rahul brigade’, the Congress has allocated nine seats for the April 13 Assembly election to the Youth Congress and has set aside the Erode constituency for the youth wing president M Yuvaraja. The allocation of seats by the parent body as per the wishlist of AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi has put the youngsters on cloud nine, as many aspirants are aged less than 30 and entered politics only last year through elections for the youth wing.
The decision on the seat-sharing came after two days of hectic discussions among the Congress top brass. According to highly placed sources, Yuvaraja would contest from Erode, while Vijay Ilanchezhiyan, one of the general secretaries of the Tamil Nadu Youth Congress and son of three-time MP A Jayamohan -- who died last year in a road accident -- would fight from Ambur. Youth Congress vice-president Varadarajan would try his luck from Madurai, while Arthanari would stand from Salem and Mahendran from Peravurani in Thanjavur district.
A rising star in YC, the only woman to be selected in the ‘talent hunt’ held by Rahul, Jyothimani would fight the polls from Karur. Another young woman Gayathri would fight it out from a seat in Coimbatore. Also, the name of Rajesh, a prominent YC functionary, is doing the rounds for the Arcot seat.
Sources said YC might even get one or two more seats, if there are any left over after the party elders are given their fill of seats. “Still many things are not clear. We are hopeful of at least one more seat,” an office-bearer said.
Interestingly, there had been resistance initially from ‘many quarters’ to allotting 10 seats to the YC. “It was suggested that they be given less as they had just entered politics. Rahul, in keeping with his vision for the growth of YC, however, asked that his list of YC candidates be cleared,” the leader said.
In addition, the Mahila wing and the Seva Dal are understood to have been given two seats each.
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