Congress Begins Process To Elect New Party Chief Amid Uncertainty Over Rahul's Return, Decision By Sep 20

There is no clarity on whether Rahul Gandhi - who resigned in May 2019 from the top post - will agree to run for the Congress president's post again.

New Delhi: Congress party began the process to elect a new party president on Sunday, the party's election authority said it would stick to the schedule of electing a new chief by September 20.

Chairman of the party's Central Election Authority Madhusudan Mistry told PTI that it was up to the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to approve the final date for the election of the Congress chief, which could be any day between August 21 to September 20.

"We will stick to the schedule. We have already forwarded the election schedule to the party leadership and are awaiting a nod from the CWC which will fix the final dates for the Congress president's election," Mistry told PTI.

As per the report, CWC had decided that elections for block committees and one member each of the Pradesh Congress Committee will be held from April 16 to May 31, 2022, and district committee chiefs and executive will be elected between June 1 and July 20, PCC chiefs and AICC members between July 21 and August 20 and AICC president between August 21 and September 20.

Mistry told PTI that the process of organisational elections at the level of Block, District, and Pradesh Congress Committee has been duly completed. But the Election Authority is in the process of finalising the AICC delegates who will vote in the crucial election for the top party post, he added.

"The exact date will be finalised by the Working Committee," he said, adding that a meeting of the party's top decision-making body will be held soon.

Rahul Gandhi 'Disinterested' In Congress Chief Poll?

Despite insisting that the CWC will stick to the schedule, the party appeared in the dark on potential candidates for the key race, with former chief Rahul Gandhi continuing to display his unwillingness to contest. Attempts to reach senior leaders to gauge the mood of the party as the internal elections rolled went in vain with most leaders saying they were unaware of the plan.

According to PTI, there is no clarity on whether Rahul Gandhi will agree to run for the Congress president's post, with large sections of the party noting that he seemed "disinterested".

Meanwhile, the G-23 is keeping a close watch on the election process and its transparency. The grouping comprising prominent veterans including former Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and his deputy Anand Sharma, besides Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Manish Tewari, has been insisting on genuine elections right from the block up to the CWC level.

(With PTI inputs)