Cong needs young blood for revival: Ex-home min

PUNE: Former Union home minister and senior Congress leader Sushilkumar Shinde on Wednesday said that the party will have to promote a young generation of leaders in the state if it wants to replicate the Karnataka poll results.
He said he will not be contesting the Lok Sabha election but will continue to work for the party.
Shinde, who attended the state Congress extended executive committee meeting in Mumbai on Tuesday, said the party's senior leadership from Maharashtra has decided to strengthen it since the state is poised for the assembly election next year.Speaking to TOI, he said, “The Karnataka assembly election results have shown the way for the party in Maharashtra. However, the leadership in the state is too scattered as of now. We need to bring all of them together. The party also needs young blood and should give more responsibility to a younger generation of leaders.”
The former Union minister said that some young leaders from the state are doing a good job but they are restricted to their respective constituencies.
“They must draw young voters to the party which is necessary for its revival in the state,” he added.
Recently, state Congress president Nana Patole and former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan had said that Shinde should contest the Lok Sabha election from his home constituency in Solapur. But Shinde told TOI that he is not going to be in the fray. “I had announced long ago that I will be retiring and will not contest any election. However, I will continue to work for the party and when the younger generation will take the lead, seniors like me will support them for the growth of the party,” he said.