The assumption of the Congress party chief’s position is expected to potentially place Rahul Gandhi in a position to lead the party into the 2024 parliamentary elections. Around two and half years after he quit the party leadership over the 2019 Lok Sabha election debacle, Rahul Gandhi appears to be getting ready to retake the reins of Congress. To this Ambika Soni, Rajya Sabha member said “Everybody agreed unanimously, whether he (Rahul Gandhi) will become the party president or not is up to him. Everybody is of the opinion that Rahul Gandhi should become the party president,” Ambika Soni said.
As of now, Sonia Gandhi will continue to be party chief. Earlier, She said she is very much “hands-on” and has taken on the government and worked with like-minded opposition parties. “So let us all have a free and honest discussion. But what should get communicated outside the four walls of this room is the collective decision of the CWC.” Said Sonia.
“In the last two years, a large number of our colleagues, particularly the younger ones, have taken on leadership roles in taking party policies and programmes to the people – whether it is the agitation of farmers, provision of relief during the pandemic, highlighting issues of concern to youth and women, atrocities on Dalits, Adivasis and minorities, price rise, and the destruction of the public sector,” Sonia Gandhi added.
She said a roadmap for electing a regular president by June 30 this year was prepared but the second wave of the pandemic sent the plans awry.
Congress general secretary KC Venugopal said the internal electoral process would be set in motion from November 1 this year, with an enrolment of primary membership. Elections to the block, district and state-level Congress committees will be held between April and September next year, which will culminate in the election of the AICC president between August 21 and September 20, 2022. The next CWC will subsequently be constituted at the Congress plenary, the date of which will be announced later.
An AICC plenary session for “election of CWC members and other bodies by AICC members” will take place in September/October. On the forthcoming Assembly elections in five states, Gandhi said “our preparations began a while back… If we are united, disciplined and focus on the party’s interests alone, I am confident that we will do well.”
