A fresh coat of paint, serviced air conditioners, and a new video wall. The Congress is set for yet another working committee meeting of its top leaders chaired by Sonia Gandhi, the interim party president. The meeting has been called to decide the long-pending leadership issue, though it’s being camouflaged as a session primarily to decide the political strategy for the upcoming assembly polls in 2022 and the present political situation.
The meeting has been scheduled against the backdrop of a fresh offensive by the party, especially Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, over the Lakhimpur violence. The party hopes this newfound aggression would help it tide over the many crises it faces, particularly with the growing demand to sort out once and for all who is the real head of the Congress. Kapil Sibal, a key leader of the G23, or group of 23 dissenters, had in a recent press conference raised this issue. “We know who is taking all the decisions, yet we do not,” he said. The reference was clearly towards Rahul Gandhi, who has been meeting party leaders and taking the final call. This has created a situation where party workers and leaders are confused as to who they should go to in case of a problem. It has also created three power centres, each headed by a Gandhi.
Sources say that some leaders in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) who are considered close to Rahul Gandhi are expected to move yet another resolution urging him to take over the reins. The long-pending presidential election has been deferred twice because of Covid restrictions, but now the CWC may fix a timeline for it. While Rahul Gandhi has to date been averse to the idea of being the party president again, the pressure is mounting on Sonia Gandhi to find closure on this issue. In private, Rahul has made it clear that he wants the process to be democratic which means proper elections. This doesn’t rule out the possibility of a non-Gandhi being considered for the top job but it’s clear that most know that such a candidate may not be acceptable to all. Meanwhile, News18.com has learnt that some members of the G23 feel that maybe they should put up a nominee against the official congress candidate to make the point that the process is democratic.
The CWC will also pass a resolution to decide the future strategy for polls and on the issues to take on the BJP. The Congress has been hit by exits including some high-profile ones like Sushmita Dev, Luizinho Faleiro and Lalitesh Tripathi. What’s worse, those considered friends like the Trinamool Congress are the ones poaching from the congress. The Aam Aadmi Party and TMC have hit the streets in poll-bound Goa and Punjab, and this would hurt the Congress the most. Opposition unity has received a setback. And many in the Congress like Rahul Gandhi feel that the party must establish its own identity and not compromise in the name of opposition unity as it’s a “dharma which is not being followed by the TMC and AAP”.
The party resolution is also likely to make a reference to this at the CWC and decide not to bend over backwards as far as opposition unity goes. At a press conference before he left for Lakhimpur Kheri, when Rahul was asked about this, he said, “It’s not about unity. It’s about what the Congress believes in and what we stand for.”
The upcoming polls will be a litmus test for the Congress. With Punjab’s new chief minister Charanjeet Channi slowly coming into his own and with feedback that the party is recovering lost ground, the Congress hopes to win in the state, as well as in BJP-ruled Uttarakhand. If it does not, the crisis could deepen and calls for a new Congress may emerge. The CWC can no longer get away by making only cursory noises. The party needs a lot more than just a fresh coat of paint.
Read all the Latest News , Breaking News and IPL 2022 Live Updates here.
Comments
0 comment