The upcoming 85th plenary session of the Congress, to be held in Raipur between February 24 and 26, will not only endorse Mallikarjun Kharge’s election as the party president but is also expected to provide a road map for the party’s political revival before the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
From organisational reforms to expressing a willingness to forge electoral alliances, the Raipur session will be watched for the political message it seeks to convey.
Decision on CWC election
On day one, the outgoing Steering Committee, that is functioning in place of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), will decide whether or not there would be election to the party’s highest decision-making body. Apart from the Congress president and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) leader, there are 23 members, out of whom 12 are elected while the rest are nominated by the party chief. However, opinion is divided on holding elections at this stage. A section of the party leaders argue that since Mr. Kharge has been elected as party chief after a keenly fought contest with Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor, he should also encourage elections to the CWC.
Also read | Should there be elections to the Congress Working Committee?
Several others, however, have argued holding elections could create fissures among workers and the party can ill afford a divided house before next year’s Lok Sabha election. “When facing an election next year, it is perhaps not the time to experiment. If there were no Lok Sabha polls, I would have favoured elections to the CWC,” Praveen Chakravarty, who heads the Data Analytics Department of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), had told The Hindu in an earlier interview.
Another senior leader, who had earlier favoured elections to the CWC, too had changed his view. “The party doesn’t seem to be in the mood to hold another election as that could bring internal divisions to the fore,” he said.
The final decision on the CWC election, however, will be taken on February 24 at the meeting of the Steering Committee. The party is also preparing to change the composition of the CWC by amending the party constitution to include former Prime Ministers and former party presidents as permanent members to the CWC. This will automatically make Dr. Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi as permanent members.
Role for the Gandhis
With a non-Gandhi at the helm after a gap of 22 years, the party may feel the need to clearly spell out the roles for the Gandhis. While Ms. Gandhi continues to be leader of the CPP, Mr. Gandhi doesn’t have any formal position. However, after the five-month-long Bharat Jodo Yatra (BJY), the Congress has already made Mr. Gandhi the face of its ongoing political campaign Haath Se Haath Jodo Abhiyan (Joining Hands Together). Apart from a chargesheet against the Narendra Modi government, the door-to-door campaign carries a one-page letter from Mr. Gandhi with electoral promises.
“I am determined to create economic prosperity for everyone - right price for farmers’ produce, jobs for our youth, fair distribution of the country’s wealth, an enabling environment for MSMEs and entrepreneurs, cheaper diesel, a stronger rupee, and a gas cylinder for ₹500,” Mr. Gandhi said in his open letter to citizens.
Post BJY’s successful completion, party cadres at the plenary may lead a chorus to project Mr. Gandhi as their prime ministerial contender. But the Congress may have to do a tightrope walk as any any formal announcement could push away potential allies.
Signal on alliance
With Lok Sabha elections a year away, the party’s articulation on future alliances is certainly going to be one of the most keenly followed aspect of the plenary session. While the party can claim to have successful alliances in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Bihar and Jharkhand, States like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Assam are a challenge. Together these States account for 84 Lok Sabha seats but the Congress is neither strong nor does it have any alliance with any of the powerful regional parties. And the emergence of Aam Admi Party (AAP) in States like Punjab, Gujarat and Goa has further eroded the party’s support base.
Revival in Hindi heartland
The biggest worry for the grand old party, however, is its decimation in the Hindi heartland of Uttar Pradesh, where the party managed to win only two of the 403 Assembly seats despite Priyanka Gandhi Vadra running a high-profile campaign to focus on women voters. “Revival in U.P. and Bihar is a must for our overall political revival and for that, we must focus on our traditional voters such as forward castes, Dalits and the minorities,” says Kishore Kumar Jhar, a party veteran from Bihar.
Udaipur Declaration
The plenary could finally see some of the organisational reforms that were discussed at the Udaipur conclave. The are ongoing discussions to reserve 50% of the party posts to scheduled castes (SC), scheduled tribes (ST), Other Backward Classes (OBC), women and minorities in party posts and committees. Apart from reservation, the party would look at implementing its promise of ‘50-under-50’ to ensure half of its office-bearers are under the age of 50.
