How new is Congress' new CWC? Rahul may have missed a chance

Rahul Gandhi has reconstituted the Congress Working Committee (CWC) – the highest decision-making body of the party – seven months after taking over the reins of the grand old party. The 84th plenary of the All India Congress Committee held in March had authorised Gandhi to set up a new committee. The new CWC is on the lines of the 34-member Steering Committee, formed and functional since February after dissolving the previous CWC. With the new team taking charge with less than a year to go for the general elections, the long-pending demand of a generational change in the party hasn’t become a reality. The speculations of an “old-guard” (swearing allegiance to Sonia Gandhi) being daggers drawn with ‘Team Rahul’ has also come a cropper, as many among the “old-guard” are still very much part of the new CWC. The new CWC has a total strength of 51 – 23 members, 18 ‘permanent invitees’ and ten ‘special invitees’ – compared to the 36 members in the previous committee. It has also been clarified that all the Congress ‘in-charges’ of states (who haven’t been accorded the position of a general secretary) will be ex-officio members of the committee. Likewise, five out of the ten ‘special invitees’ are also ex-officio positions reserved for the frontal organisations (National Students Union of India, Youth Congress, Mahila Congress, Indian National Trade Union Congress and Seva Dal) of the Congress.