After a long pause, a decisive action to revamp the Grand Old Party’s top leadership has been taken. The new line-up for the re-constituted Congress Working Committee however fails to impress. However, the party deserves praise for the inclusion of Shashi Tharoor and Sachin Pilot and some others for different reasons. Tharoor brings to the CWC a breath of fresh air. As he stood against Mallikarjun Kharge in the party president polls and won considerable support, speculations were that he would be kept out of the CWC despite his image as a well-informed leader with a global outlook. Hopes are that leaders like Tharoor can think afresh and inject new energy to the party, though he cannot be said to be young. Relatively young leaders like Sachin Pilot, Gourav Gogoi, GA Mir and Kamaleshwar Patel too have been included, but there has been no significant overhaul of the CWC. The old order prevails for most part and the few new faces cannot majorly influence the decisions of the party. Overall, the Congress fails to change with the times. Its old format has been its problem set against the renewal of the BJP through a set of new leaders and ejection of the old guard in one go – they having been dumped in the Marg Darshak Mandal immediately after Prime Minister Narendra Modi took charge.
As for the Congress party, it has retained veterans like AK Antony, though he has left Delhi and opted for a retired life and his son having shifted base to the BJP. So too with Manmohan Singh. A new minority representation has been that of Syed Nasser Hussein, as also GA Mir, while Ghulam Nabi Azad quit the Congress and formed his own party. Tariq Anwar is another minority face. A notable woman representation outside of the Nehrus is of Deepa Dasmunshi, a former Union minister and the wife of a former Bengal PCC chief. The North-East is represented by Lalthanhawla and Gourav Gogoi, the first being a former CM of Mizoram and the latter being deputy leader for the party in Lok Sabha and son of a former Assam chief minister. Put together, the new CWC has a heavier input of dynasts. Curiously, some 41 leaders have been drafted as Invitees to the CWC – permanent or special – if only to accommodate segments of pressure groups from various states. The CWC as the top policy formation panel of the Congress party takes all the decisions while the AICC meets less often and takes the backseat. Its composition is important. Overall, the Congress failed to give itself a spruced up look that’s younger and smarter. This when the parliament polls are just a few months away.
