The incoming Congress chief will be a figurehead, if not a rubber stamp

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Thiruvananthapuram: The incoming All India Congress Committee president, in all probability, will be a figurehead, if not a mere rubber stamp. The signals from the ground, and also from the flanks of the ongoing road show Bharat Jodo, are loud and clear. The vast majority of the party prefers the first family to retain its supreme authority over the grand old party.

A president to be foisted on the top, either through the ballot or by consensus, is expected to be a loyal and dedicated functionary whose mandate would be to oversee the day-to-day affairs of the party. The real powers will be vested with the high command. The outcry from the fringes for a genuine democratic process would end in a whimper well before the yatra led by Rahul Gandhi reaches its finishing point.

Already there are straws in the air indicating how things are going to shape up at the party. The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee had a meeting the other day in the state capital to elect its president. Reports suggest that the meet unanimously decided on an extended term for incumbent K Sudhakaran. But the meeting earnestly resolved to authorize AICC president Sonia Gandhi to formalize the choice and make an official announcement. Similarly, the Rajasthan PCC met on Saturday and passed a unanimous resolution urging Rahul Gandhi to return as the party chief.

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All these, and much more to be unfolded, make it clear that the rights and privileges of the first family will remain inviolable, as long as the party lasts. The Congress workers on the ground, and the majority of functionaries in various tiers, fear that the party will disintegrate without the glue that has jelled it together for nearly half a century. Most leaders on the upper rungs of the party would concur with this thinking. The electoral process could help revitalize the organizational structure. But the powers of the first family are non-negotiable, going by the party’s central creed.

This thinking has been spelt out in clear terms by AICC general secretary Jairam Ramesh, the standard bearer of the Bharat Jodo yatra. In an interview with PTI, amid the road-show moving in Kerala, he gave sufficient hints that a “consensus” is what the majority in the party is looking at, in deciding the new party chief.

Even when a new president is installed Rahul Gandhi would continue to be “ the ideological compass” of the party, Ramesh told PTI. He, however, went on to add that this should not be construed that Rahul would be doing the “backseat driving”. Taking digs at those raising an alarm against the ‘high command culture”, he said there would be anarchy without such a system. Though during its long history Congress had occasionally witnessed electoral showdowns, the ability to evolve a consensus even in the face of internal crises had been the party’s strength.

Invoking redoubtable K Kamaraj, he said the late leader from Tamil Nadu had shown how a consensus could be arrived at even amid the most complex situations. The head of the Communication department at the party centre, Ramesh would only be voicing the thinking at the top.

The much-hyped G 23 group, which made some noises over the want of democracy in the party, has failed to muster support for their cause. Its strong voices like Kabil Sibal and Ghulam Nabi Azad have exited, realizing that they would be wasting time in a futile quest by trying to reform the party. Others have fallen silent, and the few still restless will calm down or bow out soon.

Given the circumstances, even the self-proclaimed contestant for the top post-Shashi Tharoor is unlikely to throw his hat in the ring. The good old party will tread its beaten path, whether it regains its lost ground or not.