Congress Likely To Decide on New Party President At CWC Meet Today; Here's Who Leads The Race

The sources said the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders and departmental heads present at the meeting were told to hold back till Saturday for consultations on the selection of the new party chief.

New Delhi: Congress is likely to take a call on its new president’s appointment at party’s Working Committee meeting on Saturday. As per sources, the name of Mukul Balkrishna Wasnik, who is currently the General Secretary of All India Congress Committee and is former Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, is leading the race.

Rahul urges party members ‘not to worry’

The top Congress leadership held a meeting with its state unit chiefs and leaders of its state legislature parties, along with its general secretaries and in-charges, where they were told by Rahul Gandhi that there was nothing to worry as regards the selection of the new party chief, who would be appointed within the next few days after wider consultations, the sources said. Rahul Gandhi also told the leaders that he was happy to note that the party was under pressure to select its new chief and drew an analogy with a tiger, which maintained its ferocity under pressure. "I am happy that the Congress is under pressure and this will jolt the Congress into action," Gandhi is learnt to have told the party leaders. The sources said the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chiefs, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leaders and departmental heads present at the meeting were told to hold back till Saturday for consultations on the selection of the new party chief. The party general secretaries, in-charges and other CWC members would be asked to hold consultations in groups with PCC chiefs, CLP leaders and departmental heads separately and come out with a consensus as regards the name of the new Congress president, they added. Some Congressmen also made a call for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to take over from her brother Rahul Gandhi, who quit as the party chief on May 25 post the Congress's poor show in the Lok Sabha polls.