The Congress Working Committee’s decision to extend the tenure of party president Sonia Gandhi for another year at a special meeting on Tuesday came as a huge relief for a large section of party members who believe they cannot afford a leadership change when they are yet to recover from their rout in the last Lok Sabha elections.
But Sonia Gandhi showed touching faith in Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, making it clear that he will be the dominant figure in the organisation's functioning.
Sonia Gandhi specifically mentioned Rahul Gandhi twice in her opening remarks at the meeting. She specifically credited him with leading the party campaign against the Modi government’s decision to dilute the United Progressive Alliance government’s land acquisition bill, which forced the ruling alliance to backtrack on the amended legislation.
"Thanks to our party's sustained campaign, the government has been compelled to withdraw its anti-farmer amendments," she said. "The credit for this goes to every worker of the Congress Party, who under Rahul's active guidance, carried out a sustained agitation."
In the spotlight
Sonia Gandhi again referred to Rahul Gandhi in positive terms when she drew the attention of the Congress Working Committee members to the amendments to the party constitution which were listed on the agenda.
“The proposed amendments to our Constitution, which have been circulated to you, were first presented to this committee on January 13, 2015," she said. "They were a result of extensive deliberations guided by the Vice President. I believe these proposals reflect the opinion of a large number of party workers and are built upon our continued commitment to inclusion and empowerment.”
These may appear to be passing references but those familiar with the functioning of the grand old party maintained that this was Sonia Gandhi’s way of telling party members that though she would continue as Congress president for another year, it is Rahul Gandhi who will be playing a pivotal role in the party.
Taking a cue from the Congress president, the political resolution adopted by the working committee made it a point to congratulate Rahul Gandhi for his resolute opposition to the amended land acquisition bill. The Congress vice-president’s role in forcing the Modi government to drop the contentious legislation will be showcased at a special farmers’ rally being planned for this month-end.
Victory rally
While the public rally organised by the Congress in April to protest against the dilution of the land acquisition bill had served as an effective forum to bring the new energised Rahul Gandhi back into the public eye after a sabbatical, the proposed event will underline how the Congress vice-president has emerged as a leader in his own right.
When Rahul Gandhi returned from his unexplained sabbatical in a new and aggressive mode, Congress cadres were convinced that he was ready to take the party’s top job. He was more vocal in and outside Parliament and started engaging more seriously with party workers.
Though it has long been acknowledged in Congress circles that Sonia Gandhi has been keen to hand over the baton to Rahul Gandhi for some time now he has not been inclined to take over as party president. While there is a section in the party, especially the younger members, which has been rooting for Rahul Gandhi’s elevation at the earliest, Sonia Gandhi’s camp followers and senior members have been advocating caution. Over the months, more Congress insiders have endorsed this view. They say that given poor state of the party organisation and its shrinking support base, it is imperative that Sonia Gandhi should continue to guide them through this crisis.
Crucial assembly polls
It was also argued that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation be put on hold till after next year’s assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu as the Congress is not expected to score well in any of these states. Rahul Gandhi, it was pointed out, would find himself in the firing line if these elections were to be held under his stewardship.
This view eventually prevailed and Sonia Gandhi’s continuation as Congress president was formalised on Tuesday. This was necessary as Sonia Gandhi’s five-year term was ending this year-end. Consequently, the party’s highest decision-making body decided to extend the deadline for the organisational polls by a year. It also adopted several other amendments to the party constitution, including the introduction of electronic membership and 50% reservation for women belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other Backward Classes in party posts.
For the record, the party said it was seeking a year’s extension to complete its organisational polls because it needed more time to implement these changes. No other meaning should be read into this, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, brushing off suggestions that the party wanted more time because Rahul Gandhi is not ready to take over as party president.
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But Sonia Gandhi showed touching faith in Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi’s leadership, making it clear that he will be the dominant figure in the organisation's functioning.
Sonia Gandhi specifically mentioned Rahul Gandhi twice in her opening remarks at the meeting. She specifically credited him with leading the party campaign against the Modi government’s decision to dilute the United Progressive Alliance government’s land acquisition bill, which forced the ruling alliance to backtrack on the amended legislation.
"Thanks to our party's sustained campaign, the government has been compelled to withdraw its anti-farmer amendments," she said. "The credit for this goes to every worker of the Congress Party, who under Rahul's active guidance, carried out a sustained agitation."
In the spotlight
Sonia Gandhi again referred to Rahul Gandhi in positive terms when she drew the attention of the Congress Working Committee members to the amendments to the party constitution which were listed on the agenda.
“The proposed amendments to our Constitution, which have been circulated to you, were first presented to this committee on January 13, 2015," she said. "They were a result of extensive deliberations guided by the Vice President. I believe these proposals reflect the opinion of a large number of party workers and are built upon our continued commitment to inclusion and empowerment.”
These may appear to be passing references but those familiar with the functioning of the grand old party maintained that this was Sonia Gandhi’s way of telling party members that though she would continue as Congress president for another year, it is Rahul Gandhi who will be playing a pivotal role in the party.
Taking a cue from the Congress president, the political resolution adopted by the working committee made it a point to congratulate Rahul Gandhi for his resolute opposition to the amended land acquisition bill. The Congress vice-president’s role in forcing the Modi government to drop the contentious legislation will be showcased at a special farmers’ rally being planned for this month-end.
Victory rally
While the public rally organised by the Congress in April to protest against the dilution of the land acquisition bill had served as an effective forum to bring the new energised Rahul Gandhi back into the public eye after a sabbatical, the proposed event will underline how the Congress vice-president has emerged as a leader in his own right.
When Rahul Gandhi returned from his unexplained sabbatical in a new and aggressive mode, Congress cadres were convinced that he was ready to take the party’s top job. He was more vocal in and outside Parliament and started engaging more seriously with party workers.
Though it has long been acknowledged in Congress circles that Sonia Gandhi has been keen to hand over the baton to Rahul Gandhi for some time now he has not been inclined to take over as party president. While there is a section in the party, especially the younger members, which has been rooting for Rahul Gandhi’s elevation at the earliest, Sonia Gandhi’s camp followers and senior members have been advocating caution. Over the months, more Congress insiders have endorsed this view. They say that given poor state of the party organisation and its shrinking support base, it is imperative that Sonia Gandhi should continue to guide them through this crisis.
Crucial assembly polls
It was also argued that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation be put on hold till after next year’s assembly elections in Kerala, West Bengal, Assam and Tamil Nadu as the Congress is not expected to score well in any of these states. Rahul Gandhi, it was pointed out, would find himself in the firing line if these elections were to be held under his stewardship.
This view eventually prevailed and Sonia Gandhi’s continuation as Congress president was formalised on Tuesday. This was necessary as Sonia Gandhi’s five-year term was ending this year-end. Consequently, the party’s highest decision-making body decided to extend the deadline for the organisational polls by a year. It also adopted several other amendments to the party constitution, including the introduction of electronic membership and 50% reservation for women belonging to scheduled castes, scheduled tribes and other Backward Classes in party posts.
For the record, the party said it was seeking a year’s extension to complete its organisational polls because it needed more time to implement these changes. No other meaning should be read into this, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said, brushing off suggestions that the party wanted more time because Rahul Gandhi is not ready to take over as party president.
