less than a month left for Congress There is still no clarity on this important question as to electing its new president.
Word in the 136-year-old party is that senior leaders want a member of the Gandhi family to lead the party in the next parliamentary election in 2024. But as of now, it is not certain.
No one is willing to lead the Gandhi family?
Rahul Gandhi Has reportedly been keeping the party on tenterhook and has so far declined offers to take the top post again. He was the party president from 2017 to 2019.
His sister Priyanka Gandhi is also said to be in the limelight, but her performance as in-charge of Uttar Pradesh has not been inspiring, especially with the defeat in the state elections earlier this year.
Meanwhile, the current President Sonia Gandhi has stated that she will not continue in her role due to her health condition.
If not Gandhi then who?
Some senior Congress leaders are said to be working on a Plan-B in case none of the Gandhi family finally agrees to lead the party. But no clear “precursor” has yet emerged, leaving room for speculation and conjecture.
71 year old Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok GehlotGandhi loyalists seem to be a suitable non-Gandhi contender for the top post of the party.
When contacted by a section within the party, MP unit chief Kamal Nath is said to have refused, saying he cannot leave the state.
Some say that a senior Dalit leader may be the choice if the party has to fill a post outside the Gandhi family.
Earlier, names like Union Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mallikarjun Kharge and Mukul Wasnik have come up.
“G-23” member Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi AzadiAfter stepping out of important party positions in their respective states, their chances are believed to have dwindled.
Notably, the Congress has not had a non-Gandhi president since 1998 after Sitaram Kesari.
Will Congress stick to the timeline?
The party’s Central Election Authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry said it was up to the Congress Working Committee to approve the last date for the election, which could be any day between now and September 20.
The authority said it would stick to the schedule for the election of the new chief till September 20.
However, sections of the party did not rule out delays given Rahul Gandhi’s reluctance to contest for the top post, lack of a ‘Plan B’ and Congress’ current focus on organizing a ‘Bharat Jodi Yatra’ next month.
Many believe that Rahul will eventually have to accept the job.
A concrete handling of the leadership issue has implications not only for the Congress but also for the overcrowded anti-BJP bloc, which is witnessing a growing stir in the run-up to the 2024 elections.