Rahul Gandhi’s return caught between Covid surge & poll win hope

While the Congress Working Committee will hold a virtual meeting on Saturday to discuss ‘matters related to the Covid-19 second wave’, beyond the official agenda many party leaders debate whether it would be the pandemic surge or verdict of assembly polls that would help finalise the time for much-delayed ‘election’ of a full-time Congress president.The Congress leadership had last year officially cited the pandemic for putting off the election, even as change seekers sought organisational polls (and to CWC, if not CEC), leaving the party to chug along with an interim president whose decisions were guided by de facto leader Rahul Gandhi who quit as party chief after the 2019 Lok Sabha poll defeat. “If Covid-19 first wave indeed has been the reason for not holding AICC session to elect party president until now, then I wonder whether the surging Covid-19 second wave can permit it by June unless there is a new reason or convenience to hold it now even amid the pandemic,” said a CWC member. When contacted, a key AICC functionary said “as of now”, the leadership has not held any discussion on how the Covid-19 second wave could impact the June schedule. However, a senior AICC general secretary said, “the CWC has powers to discuss and decide on any party matter at the appropriate time, be it tomorrow or after election results.”

The CWC meeting is scheduled to take stock of the pandemic surge, the Centre’s ‘ill-preparation’ and ‘poor handling’ and the Congress and CMs’ demands/suggestions/plans to help contain the pandemic. Some may favour CWC taking up the Rafale deal following new allegations on payment of over one million euro as bribe to an arms agent.The leadership hopes for a favourable verdict in Kerala and Assam to help Rahul Gandhi return on a ‘victorious note’. This calculation and the fragile internal equations in the leadership has made the Gandhi siblings to actively campaign this time in the assembly polls in to demonstrate they “are active and leading.”