Congress to convene CWC meeting on October 16 amid leadership crisis; elections on agenda

In a massive development, a meeting of the Congress Working Committee will be held on October 16 in the national capital amid the ongoing infighting in the party. As per Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, the CWC members will commence their deliberations at 10 am and discuss the current political situation and the Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Punjab and Manipur. Most importantly, organisational elections shall also come up for discussion during the CWC meeting. This implies that the schedule for electing a new Congress president might be finalised. 

After being at the helm of affairs for 19 years which witnessed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance emerging victorious in 2004 as well as the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, Sonia Gandhi had paved the way for her son Rahul's elevation as the party president in December 2017. Following a series of defeats in state elections combined with the disastrous performance of Congress in the 2019 General elections, Rahul Gandhi announced his decision to step down. Sonia Gandhi has been holding interim charge of Congress since August 2019 after attempts to persuade the Wayanad MP to take back his resignation failed.

Leadership crisis in Congress

In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi on August 23, 2020, 23 senior party leaders had observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters and conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee. Despite the high-octane drama at the CWC meeting held thereafter, it was decided that the Rae Bareli MP will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened.

Far from addressing concerns, the CWC on January 22 stated that the election to the post of party president will be held only after the conclusion of the Assembly polls in Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. When the party's apex decision-making body met on May 10, the CWC delayed the process for electing a new party supremo indefinitely amid the COVID-19 crisis. The resolution mentioned that given the “nationwide emergent conditions prevailing on account of unprecedented Corona pandemic”, the party must channelize all its energies towards relief measures and “defer the elections temporarily”.

Addressing a press briefing on September 29 amid the party's mishandling of the situation in Punjab, senior advocate and Congress MP Kapil Sibal remarked, "In our party, there is no president so we don't know who is making these decisions. We know and yet we don't know. I believe that one of my senior colleagues has perhaps written or is about to write to Congress Interim president (Sonia Gandhi) to immediately convene a CWC so that a dialogue can take place as to why we are in this state."