Meeting will be first since Rahul quit as party chief, Karan backs Priyanka as Cong prez
After a series of desertions by party leaders and losing the coalition Government in Karnataka, the Congress has finally decided to convene the crucial Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting this weekend to find a successor to Rahul Gandhi to lead the party.
The party on Sunday announced that CWC will meet on August 10 and sources said finding a new party chief is in top on the agenda. The meeting would be the first since Rahul had announced his decision to quit as the party chief.
The meeting comes after several top party leaders such as Shashi Tharoor, Amarinder Singh, Anil Shahstri, Karan Singh amongst others voiced concern over lack of clarity over the leadership issue and opined that Priyanka Gandhi was the need of the hour. Priyanka has said she is not ready to take the baton since she was newer to the party as compared to her sibling Rahul, who has ruled out the possibility of a Gandhi family member succeeding him
Karan Singh on Sunday said Priyanka will be a “unifying force” and will enthuse cadres if she takes on the mantle of party president. Last month, Singh had said he was “aghast” at the disorientation into which the party has fallen following Rahul’s resignation, and urged the working committee to meet immediately under the chairmanship of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and take necessary decisions.
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Cong top brass to
find Rahul successor in Aug 10 CWC meet
Tharoor on his part on Sunday said the party should appoint an interim president and then hold internal elections to senior leadership positions which would allay all concerns.
“When we spoke with Rahul, he said there should be a culture of accountability. If Rahul has done this, then it is relevant for everyone. This principle is not just for one person,” Tharoor said addressing a Press conference after the second annual meet of All India Professionals’ Congress (AIPC) which he heads.
The party is undergoing a deep crisis and elected representatives at national and State level including Karnataka and Maharashtra have quit the grand old party to join ruling BJP. Leaders of the party have cited indecision and confusion within the rank and file of the party after Rahul’s resignation as a reason to quit.
A host of leaders holding party positions, a majority of them in the middle-level, had resigned after Rahul quit to enable restructuring of the party. Top Congress leaders have been pondering over who could succeed Rahul and several rounds of meetings have taken place, but a decision on his successor has not been taken yet.
AICC sources said the CWC will also deliberate to restructure the party at all levels. The crucial meet is likely to deliberate on the way forward for the party in the wake of Rahul quitting. Issues related with settling the leadership question are likely to top the agenda, sources said. According to the Congress constitution, if an exigency arises then the senior-most general secretary should deal with the routine tasks of the Congress president and then the working committee should name an interim president until a new president is elected.
Many names have been doing the rounds as possible choice for Congress president, with a debate generated within by some party leaders to install a young leader to lead the party. Mumbai Congress chief Milind Deora on Sunday proposed the names of Sachin Pilot and Jyotiraditya Scindia for the post of party’s national president.