No clarity on Cong organisational rejig as another deadline nears

NEW DELHI: As the one-year deadline to complete internal elections in the Congress gets closer, there is no clarity if the party will seek further extension of the cut-off date or go for organisational changes before December 31 this year.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s highest decision-making body, had on September 8 last year extended the date of completion of the organisational elections by one year. With it, the term of Congress president Sonia Gandhi was also extended by a year.

The party had then informed the election commission of its decision. A political party is required to inform the poll body of the mode and periodicity of organisational elections at different levels.

Congress sources did not rule out the possibility of a CWC meeting next month to take a call on the organisational elections, which seem unlikely at this juncture in view of the upcoming assembly elections in five states and the fact that the leadership is busy campaigning.

Apart from UP, assembly elections are scheduled to be held in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur next year.

A senior Congress functionary told HT that since party vicepresident Rahul Gandhi is busy campaigning in the poll-bound states, there are little chances that the present arrangement will be disturbed. That means, Sonia Gandhi will get another extension.

She already holds the record of having served as the Congress president for 18 consecutive years after taking over the reins of the party from Sitaram Kesri in 1998. Sonia Gandhi was reelected as the Congress president for a record fourth time in a row on September 3, 2010. At its December 2010 plenary in Delhi, the party had increased the term of its president from three to five years.

But in last year’s CWC meeting, the party proposed an amendment in its constitution to reduce the tenure of Congress president from five to three years.

The last elections to the CWC were held in 1997 when Sitaram Kesri was the party chief. However, a keen contest was witnessed for the post of the Congress president in 2000 when Sonia Gandhi defeated Jitendra Prasada. That was the last time elections were held for any post in the party.

SIDHU MAY JOIN CONG ON DIWALI: BAJWA Congress Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa, who has been batting for cricketerturned–politician and Awaaze-punjab leader Navjot Singh Sidhu’s inclusion in the party, said the much speculated move may come on the auspicious day of Diwali. Talking to the media in Hoshiarpur, Bajwa said Sidhu’s coming onboard the party would seal the victory for the Congress in the assembly elections. (Withinputsfromhtc,hoshiarpur)