No Elections For Congress Top Council, Members Will Be Hand-Picked
NDTV
The decision was not unanimous, sources said, with leaders like Ajay Maken, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Digvijaya Singh favouring elections.
The top decision-making body of the opposition Congress will have its members nominated by its new president Mallikarjun Kharge and not picked through an election, a senior leader said, once again betraying the party's struggle to shed its culture of cliques.
"Congress's Steering Committee has unanimously decided to authorise party chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate all CWC (Congress Working Committee) members," general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said on Friday.
The decision was not unanimous, sources said, with leaders like Ajay Maken, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Digvijaya Singh favouring elections at the meeting held in Chhattisgarh's Raipur, as part of the Congress's 85th plenary session. Mr Singhvi suggested elections may even be held after the 2024 national elections.
Senior Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao, however, said, "There is no difference of opinion in the Congress. We have full faith in Mallikarjun Kharge and wanted to strengthen his hands so that he can strengthen the Congress. The Congress will do what is in the interest of the party."
