New Delhi, Aug 20: Ending months of suspense, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday announced the constitution of Congress Working Committee (CWC) – the party’s highest-decision making body – which includes senior leaders like Shashi Tharoor, Sachin Pilot, Priyanka Gandhi and several others.
The inclusion of Pilot came just months ahead of the crucial assembly polls in Rajasthan.
While the panel includes 39 general members, it has 32 permanent invitees, including some in-charges of state and 13 special invitees. The list also includes presidents of the Youth Congress, the National Students’ Union of India, the Mahila Congress and the Seva Dal as ex-officio members.
Even under the formula of 50 per cent under 50 years, leaders like Pilot, K Patel and Gaurav Gogoi have found the place under this formula. Supriya Shrinate, Alka Lamba, Deepender Hooda, Priniti Shinde, Yashomati Thakur, Jothimani and others have been included too under the same formula. In a statement, the party said, “Congress President has constituted the CWC.”
Besides Kharge, former party chiefs Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Choudhary, veteran party leaders A.K. Antony, Ambika Soni, Meira Kumar, Digvijay Singh, P. Chidambaram, Tariq Anwar, Mukul Wasnik, Anand Sharma, Kumari Selja, Randeep Singh Surjewala, Ajay Maken have been named.
The new CWC also includes the names of Pilot, Tharoor, former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Priyanka Gandhi.
The 39-member CWC list also includes the names of party leaders Lal Thanhawla, Ashokrao Chavan, Gaikhangam, N Raghuveera Reddy, Tamradhwaj Sahu, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Salman Kurshid, Jairam Ramesh, Jitendra Singh, Deepak Babaria, Jagdish Thakor, GA Mir, Avinash Pande, Deepa Das Munshi, Mahendrajeet Singh Malviya, Gogoi, Syed Naseer Hussain, Kamaleshwar Patel and KC Venugopal.
Manish Tewari and Veerappa Moily, who were also part of the grouping, have been made permanent invitees to the CWC.
Prominent exclusions in the new CWC include ex-MP from Rajasthan Raghuveer Singh Meena, Jai Prakash Aggarwal, Dinesh Gundu Rao, H K Patil, K H Muniappa, P L Punia, Pramod Tiwari and Raghu Sharma. Gundu Rao, Muniappa and Patil have since become ministers in the Congress government in Karnataka.
Former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Pratibha Singh have also been included in the important panel, according to a Congress statement.
Those also included as special invitees are former Union minister Pallam Raju, besides Pawan Khera, Ganesh Godiyal, Kodikkunil Suresh, Yashomati Thakur, Supriya Shrinate, Priniti Shinde, Alka Lamba and Vamshi Chand Reddy.
The new CWC, which replaces the Steering Committee that was formed as a stop-gap arrangement after Kharge became the party president on October 10 last year, has been announced as the principal opposition party prepares for a crucial round of assembly polls in the coming months and the 2024 general elections.
Notably, Shashi Tharoor, who has been inducted in the CWC, had contested the party’s presidential elections against Kharge. Sachin Pilot has been included in the 39-member panel, which is being seen as a move to placate the popular leader ahead of crucial Rajasthan state assembly elections. (Agencies)
