Mallikarjun Kharge forms 47-member Steering Committee, retains most from CWC
New Delhi, Oct 26: New Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday set up a 47-member Steering Committee that includes former prime minister Manmohan Singh and the party's ex-presidents Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.
The interim panel headed by him would take the place of the Congress Working Committee, the apex decision-making body, till a new CWC is formed after Kharge's election is ratified at the party plenary.
All members and permanent invitees of the last CWC have been retained in the committee except Vivek Bansal.
Bansal, a former MLA who was a permanent invitee in the previous CWC, is now the in-charge for Haryana affairs of the party.
None of the special invitees to the previous CWC under Sonia Gandhi have found a place in the new Steering Committee announced by Kharge hours after he took over as the new party Congress president.
Shashi Tharoor, who contested against Kharge, is not among the panel members. He was earlier heading the Professional Congress wing of the party but resigned ahead of the party's presidential election.
The CWC special invitees not included in the new panel are Ajay Kumar Lallu, Chinta Mohan, Deepender Singh Hooda, Sachin Rao, besides Seva Dal chief organiser Lalji Desai, IYC chief Srinivas B V, NSUI chief Neeraj Kundan, Mahila Congress chief Netta D'Souza and president of Intuc G Sanjeeva Reddy.
Anand Sharma, a CWC member and a prominent leader of the G23 dissident group that was pushing for organisational overhaul, has been retained in the Steering Committee.
Earlier in the day, soon after Kharge took over as the new chief, all CWC members and office bearers of the party tendered their resignations to the new party chief to enable him to choose his own team.
There is a tradition of all office bearers of the Congress resigning soon after the election of the new president.
"All the CWC members, AICC general secretaries and in-charges have tendered their resignation to Congress president," said AICC general secretary Organisation KC Venugopal.
According to a communication from the AICC general secretary (Organisation), the steering committee members include senior party leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, A K Antony, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma, K C Venugopal, Randeep Surjewala and Digvijaya Singh.
"As per Article XV (b) of the Constitution of the Indian National Congress, the Congress president has constituted the Steering Committee which would function in place of the Congress Working Committee," Venugopal said in the order.
The CWC is the highest decision-making body of the Congress and the Steering Committee will now take all decisions till the ratification of Kharge's election at the party's plenary session attended by all PCC delegates.
According to the party Constitution, 11 members of the CWC will be nominated and 12 will be elected. Besides, the leader of the party in Parliament and the Congress president will also be the members of the working committee.
The session is likely to be held in March next year.
Among those who resigned was Anand Sharma who assured of all cooperation to the new chief and thanked Sonia Gandhi for her leadership.
Congratulating the new Congress chief, Sharma said, "It has been a privilege for me to have served as a member of the CWC with the outgoing president Sonia Gandhi and also with former president Rahul Gandhi."
"As you assume the office of the Congress president, I am submitting my resignation from the CWC. I consider, that it is important for the new president to have the freedom to reconstitute the CWC as required under the provisions of the Constitution of the Indian National Congress," he said, assuring his support in all endeavours for strengthening the party.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
