AUGUST 4, 2019 • THE WEEK 55in the midst of the old versus young debate is wheth-
er a veteran leader can be the president, assisted by
a team of vice presidents or working presidents, who
can be from the younger generation.
The delay in finalising the new president has
led to aggrieved voices protesting the “chaos” and
“disorientation” in the party. One such voice is that
of veteran leader Karan Singh, who wrote, “Instead
of honouring his [Rahul’s] bold decision, a month
was wasted in pleading with him to take back his
resignation which, as a man of honour and integrity,
he should not have been pressured to do.” He said
the CWC should meet under the chairmanship of
former prime minister Manmohan Singh to decide
on the issue, and that the party should appoint an
interim president and four working presidents or
vice presidents.
Senior leader Janardan Dwivedi has questioned
the ‘business as usual’ attitude of Congress leaders
following Rahul’s resignation, the indication being
that the rush of resignations by other function-
aries that was expected has not happened. “The
party president submits his resignation and the
party carries on with work as usual. If you look at
the contents of [Rahul’s] letter, it is clearly stated,
‘I take responsibility as party president, and I am
doing so since otherwise I cannot hold others ac-
countable.’ I feel, the indication was clear.... But
the people who are in responsible positions, they
should have followed it. That did not happen,” he
said.
Dwivedi is also against the process being
adopted for the selection of the new president.
Asked Dwivedi, “How will the new Congress
president be selected? Has this been discussed
in the CWC? No. What kind of a committee is this
where A.K. Antony has not participated? If there
was a formal composition, it would be more
credible.”
As discussions drag on, accentuating the lead-
ership crisis, the Congress is in serious trouble
in several states, the problems ranging from
bitter infighting to legislators leaving for greener
pastures. The Congress-JD(S) government lost
the trust vote in Karnataka, while party MLAs
quit en masse in Telangana and Goa to join the
ruling parties. In Maharashtra, the Congress had
to endure the ignominy of its legislative party
leader Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil jumping ship
and joining the BJP-led government. The Con-
gress government in Madhya Pradesh, which has
a wafer-thin majority, is on high alert.
The state units in Punjab and Rajasthan are
witnessing personality clashes. If Navjot Sin-
gh Sidhu is on the warpath against Amarinder
in Punjab, in Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok
Gehlot and Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot
have an extremely uneasy working relationship.
In Haryana, the state unit is literally torn apart
by intense factionalism even as the knives are
out for state president Ashok Tanwar. And, Delhi
stares at a leadership crisis following the death of
state president Sheila Dikshit.
The central leaders are finding themselves torn
between dealing with the leadership crisis at the
Centre and the problems in the states. Also, there
is lack of clarity about who is in charge. “The au-
thority of the Congress general secretaries is also
under question. This does not help matters when
the state units are in turmoil,” said a Congress
leader.
As the leadership issue drags on, the Congress
is clearly struggling to come out of the tailspin.The choice of the new Congress chief
is not proving to be easy as it has to be
someone who can take everyone along
and can command the authority to bring
about a definitive revival of the party.AMEY MANSABDAR