NEW DELHI: With chorus growing for former Congress president Rahul Gandhi to come back, the All India Congress Committee (AICC) will soon call a session to elect a new chief. All state units have been asked to send details of members who are eligible to vote.
“This is to inform you that AICC intends to convene its meeting as soon as possible, and you will be intimated as soon as dates and venue are finalised,” said a note sent to state units by Congress’ Central Election Authority headed by Madhusudan Mistry.
According to party sources, the session will be held by the end of the year or early next year. It would be a day-long affair, they added. “Rahul is most likely to take over the reins of the party and his coming back has been planned ahead of the Assembly election in five states, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, next year.
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.
Organisational revamp
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