Rahul Gandhi will lead the Congress in its campaign for national elections later this year, the party decided in a working committee meeting on Thursday, but stopped short of naming him its prime ministerial candidate.
"He will not be declared PM candidate because this has not been our convention," explained party president Sonia Gandhi. "He will lead the party into the 2014 elections and the PM will be elected after the polls are over."
Congress leader Digvijay Singh later told reporters that declaring Rahul Gandhi's candidature would take away "from the rights of elected Members of Parliament and MLAs to choose the leader".
This insistence on following procedure would seem to be a little unusual, given that the Congress -- like many other national parties -- seems to have a rather cavalier attitude to some other democratic niceties they are expected to follow according to their internal party constitutions. To put it simply: politicians do not have a good track record in imbuing their own parties with the idea of democracy they heartily defend elsewhere.
Of the five political parties that gained the highest vote share in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party do not even pretend to elect their leaders democratically. While the Bharatiya Janata Party has democratic aspirations, it is weighed down by the oversight of its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conducts its elections honestly.
The Election Commission requires all parties to register their constitutions. All these parties have in place democratic systems of changing the leadership, but in practice, most have not followed their own rules.
Indian National Congress (28.6% vote share)
What its constitution says
Each state has a Pradesh Congress Committee. No office bearer at the block or district level can hold the position for more than two consecutive terms, but this stricture does not apply to the state or national level.
Anyone can run for the post of Congress president if 10 members of the PCC nominate them. Delegates of the PCC cast the ultimate vote for the Congress President. If there are no opposing candidates, the person who stood for election automatically becomes the next president.
What actually happens
More often than not, all PCCs submit in writing that they will abide by the current Congress president’s decision on his or her successor.The seat has stayed in the Gandhi family’s hands almost entirely since 1983, when Indira Gandhi became the party president. The exception was from 1992 to 1998 when PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri were presidents.
Sonia Gandhi took over leadership in 1998 and has been president ever since. The only challenge to her came from senior Congress leader Jitendra Prasada in 2001. However, he won only 94 of 7,771 votes from the PCCs.
Bharatiya Janata Party (18.8% vote share)
What its constitution says
Members of the national and state council of the BJP will elect the president. The president will not hold office for more than one term of three years.
What actually happens
The BJP regularly and openly debates its choice of party president.However, before taking any decision, BJP leaders always consult their Hindu hardline parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh before taking any decision. The RSS takes its time to deliberate over who will become the next party president, after talking to party cadres.
One exception was when the RSS reversed their decision to grant Nitin Gadkari a second term after it turned out he was involved in a scam in January 2013.
Bahujan Samaj Party (6.2% vote share)
What its constitution says
The national president is elected by vote or by consensus among delegates who are themselves elected by 10,000 members. The national president then nominates other office bearers of the Central Executive Committee, which leads the party. The president’s power is absolute.
What actually happens
Kanshi Ram was the president of the BSP from 1984 to 2003 and Mayawati took over after that. Both of them led the party undisputed.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (5.3% vote share)
What its constitution says
Members of the central committee, the highest authority of the party, elect delegates to the politbureau. The general secretary is part of the politbureau. The party has a system of checks and balances through which the general secretary is not given unmitigated power. There are elections for all posts every three years.
What actually happens
There have been only four general secretaries since the party was formed in 1964. Apart from the incumbent Prakash Karat, all secretaries served for 14 years each. The party under Karat recently declared that no office bearer of the party would occupy a post for more than three terms. This means that Karat’s time as general secretary will end in 2014.
The party follows this system fairly rigorously. For example, when the party was given a chance to lead the United Front government in 1996, the central committee was not convinced. It instructed Jyoti Basu, to whom the prime ministerial post was offered, not to accept it. Basu later described this move as a “historic blunder”.
Samajwadi Party (3.4% vote share)
What its constitution says
Any ten members of the national council can nominate someone who is also on the council for the post of President. If an election is required, it must take place on the next day, and votes will be counted immediately after.
The party president has absolute powers. The president’s decisions are final and binding on all members: he can remove members at will, can summon national party meetings, and determine the direction of party policy. While he is aided by a national council, he is the supreme authority.
What actually happens
Mulayam Singh Yadav has been the only president of the SP since its inception in 1992. The SP constitution might well have been translated verbatim from the BSP one, with the wide range of powers it bestows on its leaders.
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"He will not be declared PM candidate because this has not been our convention," explained party president Sonia Gandhi. "He will lead the party into the 2014 elections and the PM will be elected after the polls are over."
Congress leader Digvijay Singh later told reporters that declaring Rahul Gandhi's candidature would take away "from the rights of elected Members of Parliament and MLAs to choose the leader".
This insistence on following procedure would seem to be a little unusual, given that the Congress -- like many other national parties -- seems to have a rather cavalier attitude to some other democratic niceties they are expected to follow according to their internal party constitutions. To put it simply: politicians do not have a good track record in imbuing their own parties with the idea of democracy they heartily defend elsewhere.
Of the five political parties that gained the highest vote share in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections, the Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party do not even pretend to elect their leaders democratically. While the Bharatiya Janata Party has democratic aspirations, it is weighed down by the oversight of its parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Only the Communist Party of India (Marxist) conducts its elections honestly.
The Election Commission requires all parties to register their constitutions. All these parties have in place democratic systems of changing the leadership, but in practice, most have not followed their own rules.
Indian National Congress (28.6% vote share)
What its constitution says
Each state has a Pradesh Congress Committee. No office bearer at the block or district level can hold the position for more than two consecutive terms, but this stricture does not apply to the state or national level.
Anyone can run for the post of Congress president if 10 members of the PCC nominate them. Delegates of the PCC cast the ultimate vote for the Congress President. If there are no opposing candidates, the person who stood for election automatically becomes the next president.
What actually happens
More often than not, all PCCs submit in writing that they will abide by the current Congress president’s decision on his or her successor.The seat has stayed in the Gandhi family’s hands almost entirely since 1983, when Indira Gandhi became the party president. The exception was from 1992 to 1998 when PV Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesri were presidents.
Sonia Gandhi took over leadership in 1998 and has been president ever since. The only challenge to her came from senior Congress leader Jitendra Prasada in 2001. However, he won only 94 of 7,771 votes from the PCCs.
Bharatiya Janata Party (18.8% vote share)
What its constitution says
Members of the national and state council of the BJP will elect the president. The president will not hold office for more than one term of three years.
What actually happens
The BJP regularly and openly debates its choice of party president.However, before taking any decision, BJP leaders always consult their Hindu hardline parent organisation, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh before taking any decision. The RSS takes its time to deliberate over who will become the next party president, after talking to party cadres.
One exception was when the RSS reversed their decision to grant Nitin Gadkari a second term after it turned out he was involved in a scam in January 2013.
Bahujan Samaj Party (6.2% vote share)
What its constitution says
The national president is elected by vote or by consensus among delegates who are themselves elected by 10,000 members. The national president then nominates other office bearers of the Central Executive Committee, which leads the party. The president’s power is absolute.
What actually happens
Kanshi Ram was the president of the BSP from 1984 to 2003 and Mayawati took over after that. Both of them led the party undisputed.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (5.3% vote share)
What its constitution says
Members of the central committee, the highest authority of the party, elect delegates to the politbureau. The general secretary is part of the politbureau. The party has a system of checks and balances through which the general secretary is not given unmitigated power. There are elections for all posts every three years.
What actually happens
There have been only four general secretaries since the party was formed in 1964. Apart from the incumbent Prakash Karat, all secretaries served for 14 years each. The party under Karat recently declared that no office bearer of the party would occupy a post for more than three terms. This means that Karat’s time as general secretary will end in 2014.
The party follows this system fairly rigorously. For example, when the party was given a chance to lead the United Front government in 1996, the central committee was not convinced. It instructed Jyoti Basu, to whom the prime ministerial post was offered, not to accept it. Basu later described this move as a “historic blunder”.
Samajwadi Party (3.4% vote share)
What its constitution says
Any ten members of the national council can nominate someone who is also on the council for the post of President. If an election is required, it must take place on the next day, and votes will be counted immediately after.
The party president has absolute powers. The president’s decisions are final and binding on all members: he can remove members at will, can summon national party meetings, and determine the direction of party policy. While he is aided by a national council, he is the supreme authority.
What actually happens
Mulayam Singh Yadav has been the only president of the SP since its inception in 1992. The SP constitution might well have been translated verbatim from the BSP one, with the wide range of powers it bestows on its leaders.
