NEW DELHI: As new Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge chairs the first steering committee meeting of the Congress party on December 4, his immediate challenge would be to tackle the crisis in two states — Rajasthan and Kerala, where the beleaguered party is facing leadership issues . The meeting assumes significance as it’s the first meeting of the steering committee after Kharge took over the mantle of the embattled party.
After taking over as the party chief, Kharge reconstituted the steering committee after dissolving the Congress Working Committee as per the Constitution of the party. According to a letter issued by Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal, the agenda of the meeting will be to finalise the dates for plenary session, the Bharat Jodo Yatra, and other organisational issues.
However, party insiders say that the spotlight will be on the turf war in Rajasthan between Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his nemesis Sachin Pilot, and the rumblings in Kerala after Shashi Tharoor’s North Kerala political outreach.
Though the developments in both states caught the party off guard, a section of party leaders feels that Kharge, as the new president, allowed to fester the rebellion which has been brewing in Rajasthan for quite some time. With Gehlot’s fresh offensive against his deputy Pilot, things have come to a head for the party ahead of the Bharat Jodo Yatra entering the state, says a leader. “The new president should have looked into the Rajasthan crisis on a priority basis. Now it is too late for the party to act,” said a leader
There is disenchantment among a section of leaders that even after a month of taking over, Kharge failed to address leadership issues in the party. A few days after Kharge took over; Pilot demanded an end to the climate of indecision in Rajasthan. Subsequently, senior leader Ajay Maken resigned as the AICC in charge of Rajasthan in protest of inaction against the Gehlot loyalists who held a parallel Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting in September.
“The party president did not intervene even after Maken’s letter expressing willingness to resign as the in charge of the state. It seems like Kharge’s hands are tied. He needs to act now,” said another leader.
A senior leader said that though the new party chief was expected to bring in reforms and bring together the warring factions, the party is still in limbo.
In Kerala too, the top leadership’ s cold shouldering of Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge in the Congress presidential elections, has resulted in Tharoor shifting focus to his home turf Kerala. Tharoor’s political outreach in North Kerala has rattled the senior party leaders and the party is still reeling from in-fighting.