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Process to bring Rahul back as Cong chief on

The process of bringing back Rahul Gandhi as the Congress chief after Bihar Assembly polls has begun with the party conducting the first round of meeting to convene the All India Congress Committee (AICC) session. All State units of the party have been asked to send details of members who are eligible to vote.

A note sent to State units by Congress’ Central Election Authority headed by Madhusudan Mistry said, “This is to inform you that the AICC intends to convene its meeting as soon as possible, and you will be intimated as soon as dates and venue are finalised.”

AICC sources said the session will be held in December the dates of which will be decided at a later stage.

Rahul is most likely to take over as the party president, a post he relinquished last year after the dismal performance of the Congress in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Since then his mother continues to be the interim chief, though all decisions are being taken by Rahul in coordination with his sibling Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka is general secretary in the party.

AICC sources said Rahul’s comeback is being planned ahead of the Assembly election in five States, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal next year.

The party is also expecting to form an alliance Government in Bihar, and if that happened the credit of it could be given to the Gandhi scion, added the source.

At a Congress Working Committee meeting in August, Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi had said a new president would be elected in six months.

The move came after 23 senior party veterans including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor wrote to her seeking organisational elections and a new leader.

After this crisis, the CWC was also revamped, with multiple new entrants as permanent invitees. These include Digvijay Singh, Meira Kumar, Salman Khurshid, Pramod Tiwari, Pawan Kumar Bansal and Kuljit Nagraa and senior most leader Ghulam Nabi Azad was dropped from the team.

The letter had questioned Rahul Gandhi’s style of functioning following which other leaders such as Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Bhagel, several state Congress chiefs and all Lok Sabha MPs belonging to the party had urged Rahul to take over the reins if Sonia wants to step down. Rahul Gandhi had expressed his displeasure over the letter.

The reshuffle also effected several changes in roles, with the Congress constituting two new bodies, including one to assist Sonia Gandhi in her role as interim chief.

Sunday, 01 November 2020 | PNS | New Delhi

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