Published 21:45 IST, January 21st 2021
Congress Working Committee to meet on on Jan 22; party chief elections on agenda
In a bid to end the Congress' leadership crisis, the grand old party's Congress Working Committee will meet on Friday to discuss the date for party chief polls
In a bid to end the Congress' leadership crisis, the grand old party's Congress Working Committee (CWC) will meet on Friday to discuss the date for the party president elections. The party has not had a full-time president since May 2019 - when then party chief Rahul Gandhi quit following the Lok Sabha drubbing. Since then, Congress has lost Madhya Pradesh's elected government, Bihar, Delhi, Haryana polls, barely managed to save Rajasthan, and won Jharkhand polls in alliance. It is also in an uneasy three-way government in Maharashtra with NCP and Shiv Sena, stitching a post-poll alliance.
Congress chief election meet on Friday
In December, Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala said that the Congress will soon hold elections to choose its chief, with preparations underway. Highlighting that Rahul Gandhi was the preferred successor to his mother, he said that interim-chief Sonia Gandhi will convene a CWC meet soon to decide the date for AICC session where the elections will be held. Reports state that Congress will choose its next chief in a digital AICC meeting via the electoral college process in February.
In the last Congress' Central Election Authority (CEA) meeting, updating party delegates’ list, logistical preparedness and time frame for notifying the poll schedule and date of voting were discussed, as per reports. Later interim-chief Sonia Gandhi held a meeting with 30 top leaders on the path ahead for the party in a "constructive" atmosphere, where the demand for Rahul Gandhi to take over the top post was raised, to which the ex-Congress chief said that it must be left to the electoral process. Sonia Gandhi has also meet some of the prominent members of the 'dissenters', who had written to her demanding an overhaul of the party, to talk about elections to the CWC after the party chief elections.
As per reports, CEA is drawing up a voters list of around 1500 AICC delegates and is planning to hold digital elections, marking a first. Though the election is for the Congress chief, similar to the 2017 elections, the term of the presidency will be only for 2 years. Recently, quashing all internal dissent, after a stormy Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting, the grand-old party retained Sonia Gandhi as party chief passing a resolution strengthening the Gandhis' leadership and not allowing anyone to undermine the party or the Gandhis (Rahul and Sonia).
Congress president saga
Congress has been in a leadership dilemma since Rahul Gandhi quit as party chief in the post-Lok Sabha 2019 debacle. This led to a barrage of resignations from posts like Milind Deora, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Priyanka Chaturvedi and many more. Amidst a lot of turmoil with Priyanka Vadra too being considered, Congress finally went back to their safe option- Sonia Gandhi. Most leaders have time and again implored the 50-year-old Rahul Gandhi to take back the reins of the party, but he has not budged. 23 senior leaders sought 'structural changes', internal election to the CWC even at state levels, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism, full-time leadership at the helm at the party.
Updated 21:45 IST, January 21st 2021