As a first step, informal discussions were held today between some members of the Congress Working Committee and even at 10, Janpath, though on a low key. Apparently, the thrust of the talks was how to present a fresh party to the people who voted in its favour. The problem is immediate in Rajasthan and Delhi, where the Congress is set to return to power after a long gap.

The Congress is looking at a possible two-thirds majority in both states, a total reversal of the depressing situation it was in for several years. Thus, while the news is good, it also brings with it a huge responsibility. Today's discussions in the Congress agreed on one basic fact: the party reaped the harvest of a negative vote against the BJP and didn't actually get manypositive votes. That being so, the Congress has the awesome task of converting this anger against the BJP into a favourable opinion of the Congress.

In Delhi, the task is more or less certain to fall on the shoulders of Chief Minister-designate Sheila Dikshit. She has had a tenure in the PMO during Rajiv Gandhi's time but this responsibility is different. Delhi has suffered on many counts and it is up to Dikshit to start on the front foot. On the cards are huge raids on hoarders, which the BJP avoided despite the sky-rocketing prices of essential commodities.

Rajasthan presents a slightly different scenario. The first step here is to decide on who will head the new Congress government, the probables being many. Leader of the outgoing CLP Parasram Maderna, who is an influential Jat leader, is one of them. Giving him a run for the top state job are PCC chief and party Lok Sabha MP Ashok Gehlot and former Union minister Naval Kishore Sharma

Gehlot, an OBC leader, is credited with having put in hard workover the past 18 months to put the anti-BJP feelings to good use in the polls. He has age on his side and the support of a section of the party candidates who are likely to be MLAs. Sharma is propped up mainly by the Brahmin lobby in the CWC, headed by Jitendra Prasada and Pranab Mukherjee with the support of Sharad Pawar.

Sharma, though a Congress veteran, has the disadvantage of not ever having been an MLA from Rajasthan. Since 1952, he has been contesting MP elections and his contact with local leaders is minimal. Then comes the rank outsider but a man with a high profile: CWC member and former Union minister Rajesh Pilot.

Going by statistics, Pilot held the maximum number of campaign rallies for the Congress in Rajasthan -- 73 constituencies were covered by him. If that is an indication of his popularity, he has a chance to take the Congress forward in Rajasthan. Pilot was listed to speak in 108 constituencies but is understood to developed laryngitis after hectic touring in other states as well. Inthe end, he spoke at 73 places in Rajasthan.

Maderna was second with 46 rallies addressed by him in the state and Gehlot spoke in 22 places. By this reckoning, Pilot could be sent by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to Rajasthan but these are early days yet. Pilot is an OBC leader and doubles up as an active representative of the farmers' lobby too.

Natwar Singh, who was once seen as a possible CM in Rajasthan, is out of the race following heart trouble. He is currently recuperating and is out of action. Dikshit and whoever is the Congress nominee have a tough task: they have to convert the anti-BJP votes into a pro-Congress wave to enable the party to topple the Union government.