NEW DELHI: The Congress has decided not to hold elections to its highest decision making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC). Its members will be nominated by the Congress president. The decision was taken at the Steering Committee meeting.
The Gandhis skipped the meeting during the ongoing 85th plenary session in Raipur. Congress leaders Digvijay Singh, Ajay Maken and Dr Abhishek Singhvi were in favour of holding elections to the CWC.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge told the steering committee, “There is a big challenge and opportunity before us. The party's constructive message should reach the party’s rank and file across the country and infuse a fresh energy in every worker to reach out to the common people and help win their confidence. Whatever decision we take, will lay a strong foundation for our party’s future from Kanyakumari to Kashmir,” he said.
The plenary session is being held in Chhattisgarh ahead of Assembly elections to half a dozen states and the 2024 Parliamentary elections.
The Congress communications chief Jairam Ramesh said, “Keeping in mind the political challenges facing the country and the Congress as Opposition, and the far-reaching amendments that are to take place in the Congress Constitution, the committee decided that this is the time to empower the president.” The Congress steering committee also approved several amendments to the party constitution, one of which is to give permanent membership to former prime ministers and former party presidents in the all-powerful working committee. The party will also amend its constitution to provide reservation of up to 50 per cent to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, OBCs, women, minorities and the youth in the Congress Working Committee (CWC). In all, 16 provisions and 32 rules would be changed in the Congress constitution. The amendment to be brought in the party constitution says "among the 23 members of the Congress Working Committee (other than the president of the Congress and the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary party, the Congress prime minister/former prime ministers, the leaders of the Congress in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha and former presidents of the Congress). Later in the evening the subjects committee of the plenary also met under the leadership of the Congress President. It was also attended by Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The plenary on Saturday will start with the address of the Congress president Kharge followed by the address of former Congress president Sonia Gandhi. After that the delegates will break into their respective groups and deliberate. The party is expected to come out with a five-point programme on Sunday. The party has already declared that it will be leading the Opposition alliance to take on the Modi juggernaut.
