Rahul to select CWC, delegates reject polls
NEW DELHI: A strong votary of organisational elections, Rahul Gandhi has been authorised to nominate the Congress Working Committee (CWC).
The 2000-odd All India Congress Committee (AICC) delegates on Sunday raised their hands to unanimously authorise Gandhi to reconstitute the CWC, putting an end to speculation that the new chief will take the election route to form the party’s highest decision-making body.
The suspense was ended by senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad who read the resolution on the CWC on the second day of the 84th plenary session.
As he was talking about the elections to the CWC, the delegates were seen shouting “no” and nodding their heads in disapproval.
As per the Congress Constitution, 12 of the 25 CWC members have to be elected by AICC delegates and the rest are appointed by the Congress president.
The CWC has not witnessed any election in more than two decades now. The last time the CWC witnessed a contest was in 1997 during the Kolkata plenary and prior to that in 1992 at the Tirupati session.
In the history of the Congress party, Azad said the election to the CWC had been held only about a dozen times.
Gandhi is expected to go with a mix of old and young in the new CWC that will be reconstituted soon.
In his inaugural address on Saturday, Gandhi had assured the old guard that he will take along seniors and young leaders in strengthening the party.
“The tradition in the Congress is to embrace change without forgetting its past and legacy. If the youth will take the Congress forward, the party will not move forward without the experienced leaders. So, my task is to unite the seniors and the youth, to give a new direction,” he said.
Nervousness among veterans over the possible generational shift and the proposed reforms in the organisational structure had been getting increasingly palpable since Gandhi was anointed as party vice-president in January 2013.
But earlier this month, his predecessor and mother Sonia Gandhi stated that Rahul faces a tough task of striking a balance between the old guard and the GenNext.
“He wants a balance of young and seniors. It is not an easy task. But he has made it clear that he values the role and contributions of seniors in the party,” she said, addressing the India Today conclave in Mumbai on March 9.
“He wants to revitalise the party by bringing in new faces with senior leaders,” Sonia had said.