Rahul Gandhi dissolves CWC, forms steering committee for Congress plenary session

A file photo of Congress president Rahul Gandhi. Photo: Mint

New Delhi: Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Friday dissolved the party’s highest decision-making body, Central Working Committee (CWC), and formed a 34-member steering committee that will work in its place for the upcoming plenary session.

While all CWC members are part of the new committee, some of the permanent invitees like Amarinder Singh, Vilas Muttemwar, R.K. Dhawan, Shivajirao Deshmukh, MV Rajasekharan and Mohsina Kidwai, as well all special invitees have been dropped.

The steering committee will meet today to decide on the schedule for the plenary session, which is likely to be held before the start of the second part of budget session of Parliament on 5 March.

The AICC plenary will ratify the 11 December election of Rahul Gandhi as Congress president, ending the entire process of organisational elections. The steering committee will function till the plenary session, after which a new CWC will be put in place.

As per the party’s Constitution, the 25-member CWC has 12 elected members and 11 nominated members, besides the Congress president and the chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

The new members of the CWC will be elected either at the plenary or after it.

“Congress president Rahul Gandhi has constituted a steering committee for the forthcoming plenary session as per Article XV (vii) (b) of the party’s Constitution. The steering committee will function in place of the Working Committee of the party,” AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said in a statement.

He said the meeting of the steering committee will be held on 17 February at 4pm at the party headquarters.

The steering committee includes the party president and CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi, besides former prime minister Manmohan Singh. The Steering Committee also includes party leaders A.K. Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Ambika Soni, Janardan Dwivedi, Ashok Gehlot, Sushilkumar Shinde, P. Chidambaram, Oscar Fernandes, Anand Sharma, C.P. Joshi, Digvijay Singh, B.K. Hari Prasad, Kamal Nath, Mallikarjun Kharge, Motilal Vora and Hemo Prova Saikia, besides party’s communications incharge Randeep Surjewala.

Some other leaders, who have been made party incharge in different states, like P.L. Punia, R.P.N. Singh, Deepak Babariya, R.C. Khuntia, K.C. Venugopal and Avinash Pande are also included in the new committee.