Party poll: Cong gets more time

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 27

The Election Commission today allowed the Congress additional time to complete the process of its organisational elections by December 31 this year, extending the previous deadline of June 30.

In a communication to the party, the EC agreed to the request to extend the earlier deadline by six months.

The EC had earlier directed the Congress to fulfil its party constitutional obligation to conduct internal elections every five years. The elections were due in 2015, but the party has since been delaying the process. The EC today granted a third extension to the party, which cited old membership rolls to seek more time for internal elections. The Congress told the EC that its rolls were in the process of being updated and the party needed time to conduct its elections.

The Congress argued before the EC that its highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee, had resolved in November last to conduct the organisational poll by December 2017 and accordingly sought additional time.

The party has been struggling to conclude organisational elections for many reasons, primarily due to the reluctance of heir apparent Rahul Gandhi to make the transition as the party president.