Assembly elections in five states, including West Bengal, Kerala and Tamil Nadu will be his first litmus test
New Delhi. Siyasat.net
The Congress party is preparing for the second coronation of Rahul Gandhi (50) as the party president in December, 18 months after he relinguished the post in July 2019. He served the post from December 16, 2017 to July 3, 2019.
How then will the party battle out the challenge posed by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. Political observers claim that in the coming times, a few senior leaders could leave the party fold. Interestingly, there is a round of speculation being strongly backed in Congress circles wherein it is said that there are signals of Rahul Gandhi coming to helm after Bihar polls and his name would be announced in the next AICC session.
Decks are cleared for his elevation by the Congress Central Election Authority, headed by Gujarat MP Madhusudan Mistry, sending a note to all state units to send details of all AICC members who are eligible to vote.
The note is silent on the venue and dates of the AICC session that will elect the new president to succeed his mother Sonia Gandhi (73), who holds the forte as an interim president since his resignation. It reads: “This is to inform you that the AICC indents to convene the meeting as soon as possible, and you will be intimated as soon as dates and venue are finalised.” Insiders say the session may be held in Delhi in December..
He is already part of all key decisions made by the party and it will be just an official comeback for him,” said a leader. In August, Congress’ interim president Sonia Gandhi had said a new president would be elected by February 2021. The move came after 23 senior party veterans including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor wrote to her seeking organisational elections and a new leader.
While the letter questioned Rahul Gandhi’s style of functioning, other leaders such as Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel, several state Congress chiefs and all Lok Sabha MPs belonging to the party had beseeched Rahul to take over the reins if Sonia wants to step down.
There is, however, no clarity on if and when elections to the Congress Working Committee, the party’s powerful decision-making body, would be held.
(www.siyasat.net is Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India based website, powered by Gujarat siyasat Fortnightly)
