A crucial meeting of the Congress to take a call on the dates of programmes to elect a new party president may be held this week. A date for the session of the AICC will also be decided at the same meeting.
According to sources, it has been broadly decided that the Congress session will be held in Jaipur in the month of February. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and AICC general secretary in-charge of party organisation, K.C. Venugopal, have discussed it together.
Gehlot will visit Delhi on 19-20 January. In that period, he will be holding meetings with senior leaders to give final shape to the programmes aimed at electing the new party chief. Gehlot may meet the Gandhi family as well. Gehlot, in his capacity as Kerala observer, is expected to meet Tariq Anwar who is the general secretary in-charge of Kerala. Gehlot will also go to Kerala after Delhi.
Of all the five states holding Assembly polls by April-May, Kerala is the only state where the Congress is expected to be back in power. Kerala is important for the Congress for two reasons. First, Venugopal, who is the Congress organisation in-charge, hails from the southern state, and second, Rahul Gandhi is a Lok Sabha MP from that state.
The strategy of the party is that Rahul should again take over as Congress president in February. If Congress gets electoral success in Kerala, then the credit for the same would go to him as party chief. Strategists also believe that if Congress does well with the help of its allies in two or three states, it will give strength to Rahul’s leadership.
However, Congress does not seem to be in a position to do anything substantial in other states such as Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and West Bengal. If the Congress’ ally DMK performs well in Tamil Nadu, it will give political strength to the grand old party. But the Congress does not seem to be on a strong pitch in Puducherry. The weak leadership of Congress in Assam does not augur well for the party in the Assembly polls there either. Although Congress may see a ray of hope in Assam if regional parties try their best in the polls.
With all this in view, the party wants Rahul Gandhi to take charge. However, it is worrying that Rahul is still thinking of controlling the organisation from behind the curtains.