CWC Meeting: Some Decisions Taken, But Major Issues Ignored
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2021-10-18 07:52:14
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.
View all posts by this Author
The Congress Working Committee (CWC) had its first in-person meeting after a long time. At the outset, interim president Sonia Gandhi sought to ward off criticism about her post by saying that despite being an interim president, she was a "full-time" and "hands-on" president. That is true because as she said, she had been coordinating with like-minded parties and leading the attack on the NDA government's policies. But for the GoP, the very fact that it has an interim president and not an elected and proper president, is a reflection of its dithering on party matters. Since Rahul Gandhi had resigned just after the 2019 elections, two years is a long enough time for a 'democratic' party to initiate and complete the election of a new president. It shows the Congress in very poor light that it has not been able to do so. A president elected for five years has the power and the backing to steer the party in a definite direction. Despite Sonia Gandhi's defence of her position, it is clear that the Congress has suffered immensely and has become directionless and rudderless.
On a positive note, the CWC decided to hold organizational elections over the next 11 months till September 2022 culminating in the election of the new party chief in the end of that month. This is a good decision as it will revitalize the party setup and give less ammunition to the internal critics, especially the G-23, to target the high command. As it is, after the defeat in the 2019 elections, the Congress has been grappling with electoral reverses, defections and internal differences, both at national and state level. The party high command needs to put elected bodies to work in order to bring back enthusiasm in party workers and make the party battle-ready. Although there were 'requests' from many CWC members for Rahul Gandhi to take over as president immediately and he said he would consider the same, it would be better if he takes charge as an elected president (although it is universally known that as long as a Gandhi is contesting, such elections are just a formality in the Congress).
The CWC did not, however, discuss the three major problems that the Congress is facing now. The first problem is of increasing differences cropping up in several of its state units. Rajasthan and Punjab issues have not been finally settled. There is a rebellion in Chhattisgarh. Murmurs of discontent are being heard in the Delhi unit. The state of the West Bengal unit is pitiable. These issues need to be discussed in the CWC. The second problem is of defections. In the last couple of months, senior leaders like Sushmita Dev and Luizinho Faleiro have left the party to join the TMC. It is reported that Congress leaders are being approached with offers from the several parties. The party will have to take action to stop this and the CWC needs to discuss this too. Finally, the issue of strategic alliances must also be discussed by the CWC. Both the TMC and the AAP have become increasingly belligerent and are targeting the party. Although AAP was never a Congress ally, the TMC was. But Mamata Banerjee has, in the last few weeks, increasingly shown that she does not consider the Congress a serious opposition party. It may be due to leadership issues as she knows that the Congress wants Rahul to lead the opposition alliance in 2024 but the TMC is not willing to concede that. The Congress needs to make its position clear and try and ally with all strong opposition parties.
