Congress to decide soon on AICC session to elect party president

The Congress will soon decide on the dates to convene an AICC session to elect a new party President for the remaining term, party sources said on Friday.

Senior Congress leaders are likely to meet next week to discuss issues related to the All India Congress Committee session.

The Congress President's post is lying vacant since July 2019 after Rahul Gandhi formally resigned from the post, owning moral responsibility for the party's drubbing in the Lok Sabha elections.

Sonia Gandhi is acting as the interim party chief since August 2019 after the Congress Working Committee decided to appoint her to the top post till a new incumbent took over. But since then, the Congress has been unable to find a candidate for the post.

In between, rebellion in the Congress reared its head as 23 leaders wrote to her in August 2019 to demand sweeping reforms in the party, including organisational elections from the grass-roots to the CWC levels.

Congress leaders later held a meeting on December 19 with Sonia Gandhi, wherein many demanded that Rahul Gandhi should again take over as party President.

Senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal said after the meeting: "No one has a problem with Rahul Gandhi -- and this is not just for today. Everybody has said that we need Rahul Gandhi's leadership. We must not fall into a trap laid by those trying to distract from the party's agenda."

Now, the camp followers of Rahul Gandhi are pushing for his return whereas the dissenters say that he himself has said that he will not disturb the election process.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala had said: "The Congress workers and leaders will choose a person best suited for party chief's post. It is my belief. As many as 99.9 per cent of Congress leaders and workers feel that Rahul Gandhi is the right person to lead the party and take on the Modi government."

Whether the dissenters veer round to this viewpoint is yet to be seen.

--IANS

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