Who will replace Sonia Gandhi as the Congress president? This is the big question doing the rounds of the power corridors as the process for internal elections in the grand old party officially kicks off on Saturday.
The process is scheduled to culminate in a new party president in September but the task seems fraught with challenges, the biggest one being the continued reluctance of Rahul Gandhi to take up the reins once again. He had taken over from mother Sonia Gandhi in December 2017 but resigned in 2019 after the party’s defeat in Lok Sabha elections. And since then has maintained that he is content being a party worker.
Why the Congress Needs a Full-Time President?
With Delhi CM and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal throwing his hat in the ring for the prime ministerial contest in 2024, it is clear that the next Lok Sabha election will be even more tilted towards a presidential-style battle of personalities. And as that race intensifies, the Congress not having a full-fledged leader is not the ideal image to project.
If the party floats into 2023 — when campaigning for general elections will pick up pace — without a full-time president, the confused cadre have no option but to project Rahul Gandhi as their electoral face in all campaign materials.
A reluctant Rahul Gandhi as president doesn’t augur well for the Congress either. Senior party leader Kamal Nath had once complained that the Congress now has moved on from dual to tri-cornered power centres with the three Gandhis – Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka – calling the shots. The BJP would like to see Rahul being pitted against Narendra Modi having defeated him in 2019, but the Congress cannot afford to put off the leadership question anymore.
Who if Not Rahul?
The list of non-Gandhi candidates for the post of party president is a non-starter. After suffering the second bout of Covid-19, Sonia Gandhi has made it abundantly clear that she does not want to continue even as interim president. Rahul Gandhi, too, has conveyed time and again that he is willing to work for the party in any capacity, except that of president.
Many Congressmen feel that the party’s reins should remain in the hands of a Gandhi, especially since it doesn’t have much to show in its recent electoral report card. The Gandhi family, too, would not want to give up control when the Congress is at its weakest.
In such a scenario, the Gandhi left standing is Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka has so far preferred to play second fiddle to brother Rahul. “He is my boss. I report to him. I will concentrate on UP,” she has previously said when asked about the possibility of becoming Congress president.
But some leaders in the party feel a woman president should replace Sonia Gandhi to undercut the Modi government and BJP’s successful outreach to women voters.
Some non-Gandhi names, however, are doing the rounds to prepare for the possibility of both Rahul and Priyanka sticking to their stand. Top among those is Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot, who insiders feel has the right experience and seniority for the role. Given a bleak forecast for the Congress in Rajasthan next year, Gehlot might not be averse to the idea of becoming Congress president. Other names on that list are Ambika Soni and Mukul Wasnik.
But will a non-Gandhi as Congress president be able to unite the party and wield natural authority as a Gandhi would? Or will the Congress suffer a similar objection as Manmohan Singh did in the UPA when he was picked to be the PM?
“The process has begun. We have a combined leadership and, soon, we shall get a president,” says Congress leader Supriya Shrinate.
The process may have begun but the search has stretched on long enough. It’s high time it yielded results.
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