Sonia to continue as Cong chief

Rahul to wait for another year

New Delhi: The Congress Working Committee on Tuesday extended the tenure of party president Sonia Gandhi for another year and also further lengthened the process of completing the party organaisational elections. With this decision, the chances of party vice president Rahul Gandhi taking over as party president this year has become remote.

However, the CWC also took care to do a public boosting up of Rahul Gandhi's image by hailing him as the architect of the Congress' victory in forcing the Modi government to give up its attempt to amend the 2013 Land Acquisition Act.

The party's top leadership prepared the ground for extending Sonia Gandhi's presidential tenure by adopting two key amendments to the party constitution; first one to revive the old system of having both 'active' and 'ordinary' memberships. Secondly, to revert to the three-year terms of party's office-bearers in the stead of the preset five-year term, as made in the 2012 AICC session.

With these two amendments, it becomes mandatory for the CWC to extend the deadline of the ongoing organisational elections, now to be completed with the new format, resulting in Sonia Gandhi's tenure too being extended beyond December 31.

Though Rahul Gandhi will continue to take active central role in the organisational functioning of the leadership, the CWC decision, for all practical purpose, means the leadership preparing to continue with the status quo in the leadership for some more time.

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