Rahul Forms Congress Working Committee, First Meet on 22 July

The Congress Working Committee is the party’s highest decision-making body.

Six months after taking over as the Congress president, Rahul Gandhi has announced his team that will lead the party into the 2019 elections.

(Photo: PTI)

Video Producer: Shohini Bose

Video Editor: Purnendu Pritam

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday, 17 July, constituted the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, a combination of young and old leaders. The CWC will convene for its first meeting on 22 July. The committee, which acts as an advisory panel on all key decisions, will lead the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The CWC has 51 members – 23 primary members, 18 permanent invitees, and 10 special invitees. Incidentally, the party, which is seeking 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies, has three women among the regular members.

Some Big Names Missing

While the names of senior leaders like Digvijaya Singh, Janardan Dwivedi, Sushil Kumar Shinde, Mohan Prakash, CP Joshi, and Jairam Ramesh were missing from the list, Ashok Gehlot, Oommen Chandy, Tarun Gogoi, Siddaramaiah, and Harish Rawat find a mention among new entrants.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, Madhya Pradesh state chief Kamal Nath and Rajasthan state chief Sachin Pilot's name didn't feature on the list as per norm. However, these leaders, along with other Pradesh Committee Chiefs, will participate in the CWC's first meeting on 22 July.

Independent in-charges appointed for various states will be among the permanent invitees to the working committee as ex-officio members, while the heads of five frontal organisations of the party – INTUC, Sewa Dal, Youth Congress, Mahila Congress and NSUI – will be part of the special invitees.

This the first CWC formed by the Congress chief after assuming charge of the party.

The 22 July meeting will be of an ‘extended working committee’ as Gandhi has also invited all state unit presidents and Congress Legislative Party leaders from states, PTI reported.

Women Representation

Rahul Gandhi had on Monday, 16 July, written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill in the Monsoon session. The Women's Reservation Bill calls for 33 percent of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies to be reserved for women. On Tuesday, the Congress president's CWC list had six women in total.

Sonia Gandhi, Ambika Soni and Kumari Selja were among the main members of the CWC, while Shiela Dikshit, Asha Kumari, and Rajni Patil were included in other two categories.

Minority Representation

The committee has three Muslims – Gulam Nabi Azad, Tariq Hameed Karra from Kashmir, and Ahmed Patel from Gujarat. Mallikarjun Kharge, Selja, Mukul Wasnik and P L Punia will represent Dalits.

The CWC was dissolved prior to the election of the Congress president and the earlier panel was transformed into a steering committee till the party's plenary session concluded in March, according to PTI.

(With inputs from PTI)