NEW DELHI, Aug 25: Congress president Sitaram Kesri is slowly setting part two of his overall strategy into place within the party. Having taken charge at the top, he is now changing the nature of the second-rung leadership.

In favour now are Madhavrao Scindia, Ahmed Patel, Tariq Anwar, Oscar Fernandes, Meira Kumar, Vyalar Ravi and, to a lesser extent, Priya Ranjan Das Munshi. Scindia, who was till recently part of the United Front, is Kesri's new hit man. The former Union minister from Madhya Pradesh is expected to play several roles at the same time in Kesri's current thinking.

He is being promoted as the new and acceptable young face of the party, as a leader of the future in the Congress which sorely lacks charismatic figures. When Scindia rises to make what will be his most important speech yet in Lok Sabha tomorrow, as the Congress' star speaker, he will be initiating the grooming process in public.

At a very general level, Kesri sees Scindia as one of the few TV-friendly faces in the Congress with the ability to say little in a convincing manner. At a more serious level, Kesri is hoping that Scindia will take charge of MP, an important State where the Congress is unsure of its base.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.