Congress has started preparations for the party’s Plenary Session with the new party chief Mallikarjun Kharge setting the ball rolling by asking for reports from General Secretaries on the performance of state units in the past five years.
While the date for the Plenary, which will ratify Kharge’s election and choose a new Congress Working Committee, is yet to be taken, sources said the crucial meeting is likely to be held only after the Bharat Jodo Yatra concludes. The yatra is likely to conclude in mid-February next year and in such a scenario, the Plenary could be held in March.
However, the catch is that the Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled for April-May next year and the second leg of the Budget session will be held in March.
Sources said General Secretaries usually present reports about their states at the plenary session about the general state of affairs of the party in every state.
For preparing the report, sources said, secretaries attached to General Secretaries have been asked to collect information of activities between 2018 and 2022 till October and provide a draft to concerned General Secretaries by November 10.
Some of the secretaries are learnt to have informed their seniors that no proper documentation has been done by state committees and they were finding it difficult to source proper information.
Sources said some of the state presidents have been removed while some have quit the party or are inactive and secretaries are finding it difficult to get information.
“There used to be proper documentation earlier. Of late, we have seen that there is no concerted effort to maintain institutional history. It is good that the new president is taking some initiative to document the party's day-to-day functioning,” a senior leader told DH.
At the plenary, one will be eagerly watching whether there will be an election to the Congress Working Committee, which has been the demand of a section of leaders who were called the G-23 or the change-seekers. It will also be keenly watched for whether Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge and gathered an impressive 1,072 votes, finds a place in the CWC.
This will be the first plenary after the Udaipur Chintan Shivir and it is to be seen how the leadership will manage to implement decisions like earmarking 50% of the leadership positions to those below 50 years of age.
There will also be demands for setting up a Parliamentary Board and a new Central Election Authority. Kharge is also slowly looking at preparing a list of his new team in consultation with senior leaders.