Congress Polls Put Off Till Presidents Election

Move sparks speculation of Sitaram Kesri setting sights on Rashtrapati Bhavan David Devadas

The Congress yesterday postponed its organisational elections till after the election of the President, sparking speculation that party chief Sitaram Kesri could seek to become the next President with the support of the United Front (UF) and his own party.

The party is risking confrontation with the Election Commission (EC) by postponing the organisational elections. The EC had set a May 31 deadline. Announcing the new schedule, an All India Congress Committee (AICC) spokesperson yesterday explained that the delay had been caused to enable MPs to be present for block level elections.

 

The current session of Parliament is to end on May 16. The block elections have been rescheduled to commence on June 6. The scrutiny of membership rolls is to end on May 22 and they will be published on June 1. We will be able to convince the EC, said the spokesperson, arguing that the process will have begun before the May 31 deadline.

The party may find it difficult to explain why the new schedule allows a gap of 19 days between the election of district unit presidents on June 22 and the election of the Congress president on July 11.

Asked why the party elections had been postponed to coincide with the Presidents election, Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Pranab Mukherjee said the schedule for the Presidents election had not yet been finalised. The election is likely in June-end or the first week of July.

Kesri had initially discussed postponing the party elections more than a week ago with his colleagues. The reason then cited was that the party had been preoccupied for some weeks with the political crisis at the Centre.

After chief election commissioner (CEC) M S Gill refused to extend the deadline, Kesri decided to complete the process by May 31. He has apparently decided to risk a confrontation after consulting legal opinion on the commissions power to force a registered party to complete its internal elections by a certain date. Former CEC T N Seshan had stipulated the original deadlines, since extended a number of times, but whether the EC has the power is a legal grey area.

Kesris associates aver that he has wanted for decades to become the countrys President. Since he became the Congress chief last year, South Block became the object of his ambition. Since the latter dream did not work out last month, he could have returned to his earlier obsession.

The next President cannot be elected without the backing of more than one of the three major political blocks: the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the United Front (UF). Kesri would easily get the backing of many of his senior party colleagues, who would want to succeed him as the head of their party.

Plus, he could hope to make a deal with at least a part of the UF. The Left and such parties as the Telugu Desam would be unlikely to back Kesris candidature, but such UF constituents as the Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party and the Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) could go along.

They are eager to keep the front governments main supporting ally happy and some of their leaders have spoken of closer political cooperation with the Congress.

Kesris elevation to Rashtrapati Bhawan would clear the way for the Congress to participate in the front government under the leadership of a new leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party. Sharad Pawar, the partys Lok Sabha floor leader, is among those who has spoken of the need for the Congress to participate in the government.

If the Left parties were to separate from the front over a proposal to support Kesri for President, the induction of the Congress into the government would become easier. The Left parties have made it clear that they will leave the Front if the Congress joins the government.

Pilot against postponement

NEW DELHI: Former Union minister Rajesh Pilot yesterday said that he is against any further postponement in his partys organisational elections and expressed anguish at nominations still being made for various party bodies.

At a time when organisational election process is on, still nominations are being made for various party bodies like the Congress Working Committee, which are not in the true spirit of the Congress culture, he said replying to questions after inaugurating a computer Centre in west Delhi.

Pilot said that it is unfortunate that traditions of the Congress are not being upheld while running the partys affairs.

Pilot said that he has spoken to the Congress president Sitaram Kesri and expressed his anguish over the manner in which party affairs are being handled.