Sonia begins consultations on Cong revamp

Blurb: Resistance to Prashant Kishor’s entry palpable

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 8

Three months after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) deferred organisational elections in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, party president Sonia Gandhi has initiated internal consultation to discuss a wider revamp and the road ahead.

A three-member group consisting of veterans AK Antony and Ambika Soni along with AICC general secretary in-charge of organisation KC Venugopal (Rahul Gandhi’s representative) has been tasked with engaging CWC members on issues of party revival.

The group is meeting CWC members in batches to elicit their views on challenges before the party.

Among those consulted were members of G-23, including Anand Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad, who are in the CWC.

The issue of poll strategist Prashant Kishor’s formal entry into the Congress remains on the table, with some prominent veterans, whose views Sonia respects, have “voiced reservations”.

A majority of stakeholders the party has consulted on Kishor have expressed apprehensions on his entry, leaving the decision to Sonia who, along with Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, is convinced of the value of Kishor’s presence in the Congress.

“A radical shift in the form of Kishor’s entry is expected to improve Congress electoral prospects, but the proposal comes at a cost. Many leaders, including those whose opinion matters, have suggested great caution on the matter. The ball is in Sonia’s court,” said a leader who was among those consulted.

Another CWC member who was called for discussions said the party revamp and new structures for greater democratisation of the institution were also discussed, along the lines G-23 had proposed in August 2020.

“These structures may not take shape in the form they were originally proposed by G-23. For instance, there may not be a parliamentary board as the G-23 had suggested but there may be a compact empowered committee. The good thing is we are finally talking,” said an AICC leader.

Commencement of discussions coincides with several members of G-23 being given important party roles. Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor were included in Lok Sabha strategy group; Ghulam Nabi Azad and BS Hooda are in the Congress panel to mark 75 years of Independence.