Can Gandhis' 'neutral' stand ensure 'free and fair' Congress presidential polls?

While the Gandhis may continue to represent the political leadership, they may not run for the office of the party president.

Sonia Gandhi’s return from Italy has marked a qualitative shift in the power equations within the grand old party, signalling that the Gandhis, while continuing to represent the political leadership of the Congress, may not run for the office of the party president.

Sonia’s reported assertion that she, currently holding the post of interim AICC president, would be a ‘neutral player’ in the organisational polls, is significant. Sonia is not known to make a casual remark without weighing or measuring its likely import. In the context of the October 2022 party’s presidential polls, Sonia’s comments, in the Congress circles, are being interpreted as the following.

-Sonia, in principle, has accepted Rahul Gandhi’s May 2019 formulation, when he had resigned as the party president, that neither he, nor his family members should participate in party polls.

-More significantly, the Gandhis would not play favourites in the crucial party polls.

-The election of the 88th AICC chief may be multi-corner among Ashok Gehlot, Shashi Tharoor and Manish Tewari, with the Gandhis sticking to a cliched expression, “let the best person win.”

-The clamour for Rahul Gandhi as party president has been few and far. In the past, whenever such demands had the backing of the leadership, the chorus would be louder, faster and include all 28 states, eight union territories and regional Congress units instead of four or seven states passing such resolutions of faith and loyalty.

Read: No official candidate for party chief, polls to be neutral: Sonia Gandhi tells Shashi Tharoor