Congress president will pick CWC members, no elections required

The Congress party's executive committee has decided not to hold elections to the Congress Working Committee (CWC), empowering party president Mallikarjun Kharge to form the CWC based on consensus.

According to reports, party leader Jairam Ramesh said that the Steering Committee has unanimously decided to mandate Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge to nominate all members of the CWC. Notably, CWC elections have been done only three times previously by Rajiv Gandhi, Narasimha Rao and Sitaram Kesari.

Earlier it was reported that the party is unlikely to hold CWC elections. According to reports, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi was a strong supporter of the election. Without elections, 23 of the 25 members of the CWC will be nominated by the Congress president. Also, the Congress President and the Leader of the Party in Parliament get ex-officio membership in the CWC.

Addressing the Congress Steering Committee members, party president Mallikarjun Kharge said the plenary is being held at a time when democracy and the constitution are under threat, as per reports. He said, "Parliamentary institutions are facing a serious crisis, political activities are under scrutiny. I urge everyone to speak freely and take a collective decision on the CWC polls issue." "The Congress plenary is being held against the backdrop of parliamentary elections and general elections in 2024; this is a big challenge as well as an opportunity," Kharge mentioned in a report.

The 85th Plenary Session of the Congress Party is being held from February 24 to 26 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. The party said at a press conference last week that former Congress president Sonia Gandhi, party MP Rahul Gandhi and party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also attend the meeting. The session is being held to prepare for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the party said in a press release.

Rajya Sabha MP KC Venugopal said, "The Congress plenary will be held in Raipur from February 24, 2023. It will be an important milestone on the way to the 2024 assembly elections." He added that approximately 15,000 delegates were invited to this plenary session.