Amid reports that the polls to elect a new Congress president could be put off for some time, senior party sources on Thursday said that the Congress Working Committee (CWC) would come out with a precise election schedule on August 28.
However, the deadline to elect the new party chief by September 20 is likely to be delayed by a week or two as the party is focussed on the ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ that starts on September 7.
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Some State units of the party are to complete organisational formalities to be election-ready, added the source.
The process could be delayed by a few weeks but the party will have a full-time president in October, he added.
Last year, the CWC had approved an elaborate schedule, according to which, the election for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) president was meant to be held between August 21 and September 20 this year.
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The sources denied reports that the presidential polls could be deferred or put off until such time by when the party can convince the former party chief Rahul Gandhi to take back the reins of the party.
Such speculation gained ground after Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, a front-runner for the top post, told reporters that Mr. Gandhi is the unanimous choice of workers and that they would try to convince him to take up the post.
“We will try to persuade Rahul Gandhi ji till the last moment to take over as the Congress president. The Congress Working Committee meeting is being held on August 28. We would like him to be the president,” Mr. Gehlot had told reporters on Wednesday.
But keeping such efforts separate from the election schedule, a senior leader said, “On Sunday, the CWC is meeting virtually and you will get an exact schedule. If there is a delay, it is on account of our September 4 rally, Bharat Jodo and so on. But there will be an exact schedule.”
