It is not an easy decision for the Congress to go in for elections for its top decision making body, which is the Congress Working Committee or the CWC. A member in this prestigious position, after all, is powerful. Over the years, the CWC has become a yes-man body usually toeing the line followed by the Congress president – which meant following the Gandhis, till recently.
The appointment of CWC members has added to the clout of the president, who has been a Gandhi in the last 20 years. But since the grand old party decided to go in for presidential polls – also to placate the G23 – the next step has been the demand to hold polls to the CWC to ensure that the democratic process is complete.
Despite a non-Gandhi as president, it is still senior party leader Rahul Gandhi who towers over party affairs, especially after the Bharat Jodo Yatra. But a step back in history shows why perhaps the present set of steering committee members, who are to deliberate over the CWC, may not be too enthusiastic over holding elections for the top body.
First, the CWC has the party president, leaders in both houses of parliament, and 23 members of which 12 are elected and rest appointed by the president. The last CWC elections were held in1997 during the Calcutta session when Sitaram Kesri was the president. But his term did not last long and he was forced to step down with Sonia Gandhi entering active politics for the first time.
Earlier in 1992, in the Tirupati session, the then president PV Narsimha Rao made way for the CWC polls. But when he saw that many of his loyalists failed to win, he said the CWC elected did not have adequate representation for Dalits, women, and so he asked all of them to resign paving the way for his complete control over the body.
It is this worry, that one man could have control over the party and that person could be a non-Gandhi, which is worrying the loyalists again. While the right noise is being made in favour of the polls, those who are Gandhi loyalists fear that a president with real power through the CWC being filled with his loyalists could overshadow the power of the Gandhis.
After the Bharat Jodo Yatra, there is a feeling that with the traction that it got, Rahul Gandhi should be the one who is the fulcrum. Also, while the Gandhis can become lifetime members of the CWC by virtue of being former presidents, the issue is how to accommodate Priyanka Gandhi Vadra without holding the polls.
And this could be one of the deciding factors whether polls will be held.
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