Nearly six months after the Raipur plenary confirmed his election, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge put a personal stamp on the party organisation by reconstituting the Congress Working Committee (CWC) with a focus on under-represented groups and minorities, and increased participation from young people and women. This created a diverse body that aims to develop future leaders and support the immediate task in states that are approaching election season.
Importantly, Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor, who fought the presidential poll against Kharge, has been given a seat at the main table - a matter of speculation for months. Rajasthan leader Sachin Pilot’s nomination also stands out as part of the formula to accommodate him following his factional war with CM Ashok Gehlot.
Team Kharge comprises six OBC faces as against just one in the last body, while it has nine SCs and a “promising” tribal leader in Rajasthan minister Mahendrajeet Malviya. A top functionary said, “The committee is a determined projection of pro poor, pro-backward classes leadership, besides being a mix of experienced heads and the GenNext.”
What is sure to attract attention is that former deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Anand Sharma, a leading light of the dissident group G23, has been retained in the committee, while Punjab MP and G23 member Manish Tewari is a fresh inclusion. Crucially, the CWC forms a core of regional satraps in Ashok Chavan of Maharashtra, Pratibha Singh of Himachal Pradesh, Ajay Maken of Delhi, former CM Charanjit Channi of Punjab, Mizoram face Lal Thanhawala, Jagdish Thakor of Gujarat, Ramesh Chennithala of Kerala, Ghulam Ahmed Mir of J&K, Ganesh Godiyal of Uttarakhand and Bengal’s Deepa Dasmunsi.
The party made the decision to enhance the strength to also accommodate the policy resolution that 50% of the members on the panels should be under 50 years old and from SC/ST/OBC/Women/Minorities. There are nine special invitees, 14 AICC state-in charges, and 18 permanent invitees. In addition, four ex-officio members are Youth Congress President Srinivas B. V., NSUI President Neeraj Kundan, Mahila Congress President Netta D'souza, and Sevadal Chief Organiser Lalji Desai.