The elections for the Congress president have been postponed once again. The Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met on Monday, postponed the polls despite setting a date. According to sources, the CWC was mulling over holding the long-awaited internal polls on June 23. However, the date was postponed after the majority of members opposed the date due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation.
Addressing a press conference after the CWC meet, senior Congress leader KC Venugopal said that the committee members opined that this was not the right time to conduct elections.
"All energy should be channelised to provide relief and support work. It was unanimously decided to defer elections further temporarily," Venugopal said.
The post of Congress president has remained vacant since Rahul Gandhi resigned after the drubbing in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
At the crucial meeting, Sonia Gandhi also said that she intends to set up a small group to look at every aspect that caused the poll debacle for Congress in the recent elections.
“We have to take note of our serious setbacks. To say that we are deeply disappointed is to make an understatement,” said Sonia Gandhi on the party’s poor show.
When will the stalemate end?
The CWC has postponed the election for the Congress president thrice now.
The CWC was expected to announce the election in August last year. However, after a charged meeting, the committee asked ailing Sonia Gandhi to continue as interim chief for the next six months. In the meeting, the CWC had resolved to conduct internal polls by February to appoint a new president. But, in February, it decided to push the elections until after the five assembly polls.
For the last few months, the party high command has been facing an unprecedented rebellion and is under pressure to announce internal elections for the post of party chief. The rebels, known as the G-23, have been pushing for party reforms, including greater inner-party democracy - elections to the CWC and the post of the AICC president.