The Congress’ highest decision-making body adopted a resolution on Monday to elevate Rahul Gandhi, who could take over as the party president as early as December 5, a top source said.
The Congress will be holding internal elections after seven years. Nominations will close on December 4 and applications will be scrutinised a day later. Voting will be held on December 16 but it was unlikely Rahul Gandhi will face a challenge.
The 47-year-old politician, once referred to as the “Reluctant Prince” for his refusal to lead the party or join its last government, has virtually helmed the organisation after his mother and party president Sonia Gandhi took a back seat two years ago. He has been the party vice-president since January 2013.
Party sources say Sonia Gandhi, long a binding force for the party and known for her ability to build alliances, could take the role of its chief patron or head the Congress Parliamentary Party.
Monday’s decision by the Congress Working Committee came after an assessment that Rahul Gandhi’s elevation would help the Congress in the Gujarat assembly elections, to be held in two phases on December 9 and 14.
“We will definitely get more public space, and Rahul Gandhi’s campaign as Congress president will not only galvanise the cadre but also generate goodwill among voters,” said a party leader involved in the campaign strategy for Gujarat.
Over the past months, Rahul Gandhi has shouldered the responsibility of being the chief campaigner, displaying a new confidence in his public speeches as well as on social media that have triggered some unease in the BJP.
A good showing in Gujarat could help the party recover from a string of defeats in state polls. For that, Rahul Gandhi’s ability to stitch political alliance will be put to test in a state that is seeing the emergence of several young leaders, especially along caste lines, whose support could be a swing factor.
The Congress has not seen a contest for the party’s top post since 2000 when late Jitendra Prasad unsuccessfully challenged Sonia Gandhi.
This time, the party leadership had three options to meet the Election Commission’s December 31 deadline to complete its organisational polls, a Congress leader told on Sunday. “
While one was to announce the schedule now and hold the elections immediately after the second phase of the Gujarat polls on December 14, the second was to announce the poll dates on December 14 and complete the entire process within two weeks,” he said on the condition of anonymity.
The third option was for the CWC to first anoint Rahul and then get the decision ratified by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) at a special session, he added.
The party constitution allows the CWC to take any decision, including appointing the party chief, though it has to be ratified within six months by the AICC, which has about 2,000 members drawn from across the country.
The CWC had exercised the third option to bring in Sonia Gandhi as the party chief in place of Sitaram Kesri on March 14, 1998. The AICC approved the decision on April 6 that year, paving the way for her uninterrupted run for a record 19 years.
