Eye on polls, Kharge rejigs Congress Working Committee; Sachin Pilot, Shashi Tharoor find a spot

This comes months after the party had decided to not hold elections to the CWC at a meeting of the Steering Committee not attended by members of the Gandhi family (Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka). In the February meeting, it was unanimously decided to authorise Kharge to nominate the members.

The list of CWC members released Sunday includes senior party leaders like former prime minister Manmohan Singh, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram, and Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh. Other prominent names include former Kerala CM A K Antony, former Madhya Pradesh CM Digvijaya Singh, former Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar, former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, Lok Sabha MP Gaurav Gogoi and Congress general secretary K C Venugopal.

I am honoured by the decision of the @INCIndia President Shri Mallikarjun @Kharge ji and the Congress central leadership to nominate me to the Working Committee. As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled…

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) August 20, 2023

Reacting to the inclusion, Shashi Tharoor said that he was honoured by party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and the central leadership’s decision to nominate him to the working committee and asserted that countless Indians who seek a more inclusive India “deserve the best” from the party.

“I am honoured by the decision of the @INCIndia President Shri Mallikarjun @Kharge ji and the Congress central leadership to nominate me to the Working Committee,” Tharoor said in a post on X.

“As one who is aware of the historic role played by the CWC in guiding the party over the last 138 years, I am humbled and grateful to be part of this institution, and look forward to the opportunity to serve the party alongside my dedicated colleagues,” the MP from Thiruvananthapuram wrote.

He added, “None of us can accomplish anything without the lakhs of committed workers who are the lifeblood of the party. Today, above all, I bow to them. The countless Indians who seek a more inclusive and accepting India deserve the best from us.”

कांग्रेस वर्किंग कमेटी (CWC) का सदस्य बनाए जाने पर मैं आदरणीय कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष श्री मल्लिकार्जुन खरगे जी, CPP चेयरपर्सन श्रीमती सोनिया गांधी जी एवं पूर्व अध्यक्ष श्री राहुल गांधी जी का आभार व्यक्त करता हूं।

हम सभी कांग्रेस की रीति-नीति व विचारधारा को सशक्त करते हुए उसे और अधिक… https://t.co/LjK7N8WF4s

— Sachin Pilot (@SachinPilot) August 20, 2023

Sachin Pilot, too, expresses his gratitude for the inclusion into the body. “We all will strengthen the customs and ideology of the Congress and take it more strongly to the people,” he wrote.

In February, after the Steering Committee meeting, Jairam Ramesh said that the decision was taken “keeping in mind the political challenges facing the country, facing the Congress party in its capacity as the main Opposition and keeping in mind the far-reaching amendments that we are going to bring about in our party’s Constitution.” The most important of the amendments, he said, was to provide for 50 per cent reservation in the CWC for SC, ST, OBC, minorities, women and youth.

Meanwhile, the list of permanent invitees includes names such as former Karnataka CM M Veerappa Moily, former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat, Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore, and former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. The list of special invitees includes senior leader Pawan Khera, former MLA from Delhi Alka Lamba and national spokesperson Supriya Shrinate.

The CWC is the “highest executive authority” of the Congress, and has the final say in interpreting and applying the provisions of the party’s constitution. It also technically has the power to remove or appoint the party president.