New Delhi: At the end of a day of high-strung drama for the grand old party, beneath what seems like the continuation of the status quo, are some significant changes meant to quell dissent and send a message that the leadership is willing to cede space – even if only marginally.The Congress Working Committee on Monday, after a marathon seven-hour-long meeting, passed a resolution stating that while interim party president Sonia Gandhi will remain in the post till the time the party holds internal elections to choose her successor, she has been authorised by the CWC to “affect necessary organisational changes that she may deem appropriate” to take on the “multiple crises” of the coronavirus pandemic, a “downward-spiralling” economy, “massive job losses” and a “brazen” occupation of Indian territory by the Chinese.According to several leaders present at the meeting that The Wire spoke to, this translates to a decision that a committee will now be formed by the party president to assist Sonia in discharging her duties as the party chief.A special invitee to the CWC present in the meeting said that the 52 members of the extended CWC, who were part of Monday’s meeting, while deliberating on the leadership crisis, have agreed to have a committee of four members. It remains unclear whether the four-member committee will include the party president. But one thing is clear – the move is to get more democratisation into the party, and send an impression that power is not concentrated in the hands of the Gandhi family alone.The head of the committee will serve as the Congress president’s deputy, taking on a role similar to that of a vice-president – even though the party’s constitution does not have such a role etched.“The president can appoint anyone to be a member of the committee, and these members will help her in carrying out her role,” said the leader. Sonia’s failing health, the leader said, has been a matter of concern among leaders, and public prompts to have Rahul Gandhi return to his former role as the party chief have not been successful.Also read: The Congress Was Once a Grand Old PartyThis is not the first time that a Congress president will seek internal help in discharging their duties. In 2012, when Sonia was facing health issues, she appointed a sub-group to help her in this regard. Rajya Sabha MPs Ahmed Patel and A.K. Antony, along with then general secretary organisation Janardhan Dwivedi, formed the sub-group.At Monday’s meeting, CWC members also agreed on starting a new membership drive to help drum up more numbers ahead of the planned internal elections. The CWC agreed that elections should be held in the near future once the pandemic eases.“There was also an assumption by some that the interim president’s term finished on August 10 (as she took on the role on that day a year ago) but the meeting did not see a discussion on how long she would continue in this role,” one of the leaders said.While the development comes amidst a longwinding crisis of leadership in the Congress party – ever since Rahul stepped down from his role, taking responsibility of the party’s debacle in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections – murmurs and public comments by several leaders had been growing of late, indicating a growing resentment towards what many see as a “rudderless ship” that is struggling to take on the BJP. Sonia taking back the mantle of the party chief, several leaders said, is largely “a compromise” between two towering sections of the party – one that vows complete allegiance to Rahul, and another that wants to see palpable change.The CWC meeting had been prompted by a letter from 23 senior party members to Sonia, and it summarised several suggestions to ease out niggling worries facing the party. These suggestions include having a leadership that is permanent and available, and an independent election authority that will see through fresh elections of the CWC as well as that of block, district and state representatives of the All India Congress Committee.A day after the letter was reported, several leaders publicly offered their unequivocal support to the Gandhis. Within the meeting, however, several signatories of the letter asked Sonia to remain at the helm, or for Rahul to take over in case she decides not to continue. Several leaders present said that both the mother and son spoke about the letter – Rahul questioned its timing while Sonia said that internal party matters should be discussed within appropriate party forums.As the meeting continued, reports of Rahul alleging collusion between dissenting leaders and the BJP led to some angry retorts from Congressmen, only to be quelled by chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala. Leaders such as Kapil Sibal, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Sanjay Jha, who had reacted to the reports, withdrew their comments.While reading out the CWC resolution to the press, Surjewala said, “The CWC notes that inner-party issues can not be deliberated through the media or in public fora. The CWC urges and advises all concerned to raise such issues only in party fora in the interest of propriety and discipline.”Also read: As Letter to Sonia Gandhi Causes Upheaval, a Look at Congress’s Muddy Internal DemocracyDespite the unified front that the party leaders put up in the public eye, several leaders who were signatories to the letter, including Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor, convened at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s house.A former MP, who was part of the meeting, told The Wire that the current leadership has demonstrated they are entirely capable of stepping up when it’s the need of the hour – most recently, for instance, in thwarting what they claimed are “machinations” of the BJP in destabilising the Congress government in Rajasthan.“That is one good step, but an organisation needs many more such steps. The party is still recovering from the Lok Sabha results and in spite of the government failing multiple times, we see a resonance among people for the BJP. There is a need for more platforms or activities to further strengthen the party, especially at a time when political parties have to adjust to new circumstances,” said the leader.Amrita Madhukalya is a Delhi-based reporter who writes on politics and policy.
