The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Monday decided that Sonia Gandhi will continue as interim president of the Congress for another six months. The stormy CWC session witnessed leaders attacking each other over the future of the party. Ghulam Nabi Azad, who along with 22 other leaders had recently written a letter to the Congress president, seeking course correction of the working affairs of the party, bore the brunt of attack. Many of the CWC members came down hard on the dissenters. After giving Sonia Gandhi a six-month extension, the Congress also announced that it will elect a new president.
The principal opposition party is struggling over the leadership issue. Sonia Gandhi has been reluctant to continue as the president while Rahul Gandhi has refused to return as party chief. The confusion over leadership has hurt the prospects of the Congress party. The continuing of Sonia Gandhi as the interim chief for another six months will not resolve the issue. In fact it is going to make matters worse. More leaders are expected to leave the party because of the chaos surrounding it. If the Congress wants to remain relevant as a political party, it should immediately conduct election for the CWC and follow it by election for the post of the president at the earliest. A national party cannot be run ad hoc. For a vibrant democracy, a strong opposition is very important. Unfortunately, the Congress has miserably failed to play the role of the opposition. Its members are mostly busy fighting among themselves.