Sonia Gandhi headed for third unopposed term as Cong chief?

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 29

With the Congress deciding to hold elections to the post of party president in September, the question on everyone’s mind is: “Will Sonia Gandhi get a third consecutive unopposed term?”

“Of course she will …is there a doubt?” said a Congress Working Committee member after the party’s Central Election Authority recently declared that elections to the post of Congress president and state unit chiefs will take place between September 21 and 30.

The process of elections will start from May 15 with the end of party’s membership drive. Only those who pay Rs 5 each will be eligible for memberships. This fee was earlier Rs 10.

There is, however, no clarity on whether there will be a contest for the post of vice-president which Rahul Gandhi occupies. Congress veterans say elections are held for positions mentioned in the party Constitution and vice-president is not one such post. It is a created one.

As for Congress chief’s election, it is part of the party’s five yearly organisational election process when throughout India members elect office-bearers from block to state level. Each block committee elects one Pradesh Congress Committee member (delegate) and one eighth of the Pradesh members are then elected as AICC members through proportional representation. AICC members elect the Congress president.

Once the party president is in place, she calls the AICC plenary session where the all powerful Congress Working Committee is installed (in this 21 member body, 10 posts are elected and 10 nominated by Congress chief). The session is this time likely in October though a schedule will be announced later.

In the last party elections in September 2010, the electoral college for Congress chief’s poll comprised 7,946 members but no voting took place as Sonia was unanimously elected like in 2005. The only time Sonia faced a contest was in November 2000 when party’s former vice-president Jitendra Prasada challenged her. Sonia polled 7,448 out of 7,771 votes cast.

As things stand, Sonia, the longest serving Congress chief (she has been chief since 1998 when she replaced Sitaram Kesri), appears headed for a third consecutive unopposed term unless she decides to install Rahul in her place.

Within the party, too, there is preference for consensus to elect the party chief. Congress general secretary (organisation) Janardan Dwivedi has repeatedly argued that consensus is the best form of elections.