‘Inauspicious time’: Congress chief election delayed again, final call on Aug 28

India

oi-Deepika S

New
Delhi,
Aug
25:
The
process
for
the
election
of
Congress
president
has
been
delayed
again
with
several
party
leaders
publicly
exhorting
Rahul
Gandhi
to
become
party
chief.
A
final
decision
on
this
will
be
out
on
August
28,
when
the
Congress
Working
Committee
(CWC)
will
hold
a
virtual
meeting.

The
party
has
cited
an
“inauspicious
period”
before
the
festivals
besides
Rahul
Gandhi’s
resistance
to
the
top
role,”
according
to
a
NDTV
report.

Sonia
Gandhi
and
the
party
have
been
saying
that
Congress
would
have
its
new
president
by
September
20.

It
is,
meanwhile,
learnt
that
the
G-23
is
keeping
a
close
watch
at
the
election
process
and
its
transparency.

Nehru-Gandhi
family
integral,
but
internal
changes
must
for
Congress
revival:
Anand
Sharma

The
grouping
comprising
prominent
veterans
including
former
Leader
of
Opposition
in
Rajya
Sabha
Ghulam
Nabi
Azad
and
his
deputy
Anand
Sharma,
besides
Bhupinder
Singh
Hooda
and
Manish
Tewari,
has
been
insisting
on
genuine
elections
right
from
the
block
up
to
the
CWC
level.

As
of
today,
there
is
no
clarity
on
whether
Rahul
Gandhi
will
agree
to
run
for
the
Congress
president’s
post,
with
large
sections
of
the
party
noting
that
he
seemed
“disinterested”.

In
May
2019,
Sonia
Gandhi
had
agreed
to
become
interim
president
of
the
party
after
Rahul
Gandhi
resigned
following
the
Congress
loss
in
general
elections.

Even
at
that
time,
an
extensive
CWC
consultation
had
favoured
Rahul
Gandhi
to
continue
and
urged
him
to
do
so.
After
he
declined
the
party’s
highest
decision-making
body
requested
Sonia
Gandhi
to
step
in.

For
several
months
after
May
2019,
there
was
complete
silence
within
the
Congress
circles
on
the
election
of
a
full-time
party
chief
until
late
July
2020
when
G-23
leaders
in
a
letter
to
Sonia
Gandhi
sought
urgent
elections
across
all
levels
of
the
party,
to
revive
its
sagging
electoral
fortunes.

Subsequently
on
October
16,
2021,
the
CWC
approved
a
tentative
schedule
for
the
internal
elections,
culminating
in
the
poll
for
the
highest
position
in
the
party
–
that
of
the
Congress
president.

Meanwhile,
there
appears
to
be
no
formal
discussion
in
the
Congress
on
a
non-Gandhi
to
succeed
Sonia
Gandhi,
with
some
leaders
saying
that
the
incumbent
chief
might
well
stay
on
the
top
post
if
this
situation
of
fluidity
continues.