Congress Working Committee to meet today to pick next president
New Delhi, Aug 10 (IBNS): The Congress Working Committee will meet on Saturday to pick up the next president of the party.
The post has been empty ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down following the Lok Sabha elections where the Congress performed poorly.
According to media reports, senior party leaders Ahmed Patel, AK Antony, Ashok Gehlot, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Motilal Vora, Mallikarjun Kharge and KC Venugopal earlier met to discuss different issues related to the selection of the party president.
At a meeting of the Congress’s general secretaries, state incharges, state unit chiefs, Congress Legislature Party members and members of Parliament on Friday evening, Rahul Gandhi was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times: “I have asked Venugopal ji to widen the consultation process and take a considered decision to select the new Congress president. I have asked him to include all those present here in the deliberations.”
A party functionary told the newspaper that all the 65 All India Congress Committee (AICC) secretaries have been asked to be present at the party headquarters – the venue of the CWC meeting.
One of the frontrunners for the post is senior party leader Mukul Wasnik.
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Manu Singhvi earlier tweeted: "On Sat, a consensus builder party pres #INC must be selected. slightest delay is not an option. In lighter vein, I gave analogy of wise men of #Vatican locked in a room indefinitely until they got a nomination! Subsequently, it has to be followed by full intra party elections."
In this year's Lok Sabha polls, the Congress managed to win only 52 seats in the 543 member Lower House of the Parliament.
The Bharatiya Janata Party won 303 seats as Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned to power for the second term.
Rahul Gandhi, who became the president of the party in 2017, resigned following the poor show in the general polls.
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