The Congress is all set to hold its plenary session this week. The key question however is: will they hold elections to the Congress Working Committee? On the face of it, the CWC polls should have been an organic result of the Congress Presidential polls held in October last year. That will send a strong message in favour of transparent democracy. But there is a price to be paid and the Congress leadership is weighing its options. A lot of senior leaders have spoken against holding elections to the Working Committee for the simple reason that a bitterly contested polls would lead to factionalism and divide the party. This is not without risk coming as it is on the eve of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. In addition, there are some crucial state elections slated for this year, beginning with Karnataka, Telangana and ending with Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, all states where the Congress has a fighting chance. So why stir the boat and pit regional leaders against one another for CWC seats when the aim is to keep them united and focussed on the coming state polls. Already, we have seen media reports stating various leaders are keen to contest the CWC polls. Telangana senior vice president Mallu Ravi has announced that he would throw his hat in the CWC election ring. Where would that leave the Telangana Pradesh Committee President and Nalgonda MP N. Uttam kumar Reddy? There may be a similar face-off between D.K. Shivkumar and the Siddaramaiah camps. And so on.
There is also another argument in favour of not holding elections to the CWC. Of the 24 members of the Working Committee, 12 are nominated. If you take the posts of party president and add to this the three Gandhis, plus former Prime Minsiter Dr Manmohan Singh, then five of these 12 seats get taken, leaving only 7 from the nomination quota. As for the other 12, you will see regional heavy weights entering the Working Committee on their own strength instead of serving at the pleasure of the Congress President. That may not work well for the durbar style culture that the political parties in India are known for (why single out the Congress alone).
And so a way out is being planned. According to sources, the first step would be to increase the strength of the CWC and make former Prime Ministers and current and ex-party presidents permanent members. That will take care of Dr Singh, Kharge, Sonia and Rahul. And leave more room for other loyalists to take on heavy weights with ambition.
This is certainly not good for internal party democracy, but as pointed out earlier, the Congress is not the only one that favours the durbar style of governance. Look at the BJP during the Modi era and you will see a distinct Congress model emerging there as well, top heavy with little room for dissent or inner party elections.
Guess for the Congress leadership, there are many layers at play here. Not only do they have to defeat the Modi government in the next elections, but they also have to keep the party united at the same time.