Even as Sonia Gandhi looked set to retain the reins of the party for the fourth time on September 21, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met to decide the dates for the election of the party president — and State presidents — was briefed at length by Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram and later, by Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad on the unfolding situation in Jammu and Kashmir. While Mr. Chidambaram's close to 30-minute presentation was in the nature of a “status report,” replete with statistics, on what has happened in the State in the last few years, Mr. Azad — a former Chief Minister — sources said, gave his “perceptions.”
Party general secretary and media committee chairperson Janardan Dwivedi said Mr. Chidambaram was invited to speak on J&K in view of the “great concern” in the party and the country about the State. Mr. Dwivedi stressed that the Home Minister, while discussing the political dimensions of the problem, dwelt on cross-border infiltration, terrorist activity and the manner in which certain elements were misguiding the youth. He also spoke of what the government could do and what could be done at the political level, adding that the only way forward was through dialogue. Sources added that Mr. Azad spoke about the local Kashmiri sentiment and gave his own perspective, based on his personal experiences.
The current relief and rehabilitation efforts in Leh, which was devastated by floods recently, was also discussed, a day before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is scheduled to visit the disaster-hit areas there. (On Monday, party general secretary Rahul Gandhi, accompanied by Union Minister of State for Defence Pallam Raju, visited Leh and met the affected people.) The CWC also passed a condolence resolution dedicated to the victims in Leh, as well as those who had lost their lives in the recent spate of rail accidents.
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2.9 crore members enrolled
At the CWC meeting, Congress Election Authority chairman Oscar Fernandes announced that this year over 2.9 crore members were enrolled in the run-up to the completion of the periodic organisational elections. This year, the differentiation between ordinary and active members was done away with, Mr. Dwivedi said. For the first time, each member was issued a photo-identity card for three years. Simultaneously, seven lakh booth committees were created, while 7496 PCC delegates and 1256 AICC delegates were elected.
The schedule for the election of the Congress president will commence with the date of notification (August 27) and conclude with the counting of votes (if there is more than one candidate) and announcement of results on September 21.
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Ms. Gandhi, who got the top slot in 1998, has created a record by being the longest-serving Congress president, having completed over a decade in the top post. Thus far, she has been unanimously elected as president, except when Jitendra Prasada, a senior leader from Uttar Pradesh, challenged her in the polls in 2000.