Priyanka Gandhi as Congress president will be a 'unifying force': Karan Singh
New Delhi, Aug 4: Amid growing voices calling for Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to lead the Congress following Rahul Gandhi's resignation, veteran leader Karan Singh has said she will be a "unifying force" and will enthuse cadres if she takes on the mantle of party president.
He also said the Congress has "definitely been harmed" due to the indecision over the leadership issue and cautioned that remaining "headless" can be "seriously detrimental" to the party going forward.
In an interview to PTI, Singh agreed with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor's views aired recently that a young leader will be more suitable as a replacement of Rahul Gandhi.
"Baffled" over the "state of indecision" in the party, Singh on Saturday said there are some very senior people in the Congress Working Committee (CWC) and they should have come together earlier and done something about the situation arising out of Rahul Gandhi's resignation.
"One cannot leave the party headless. It is not fair to the Congress," said Singh, a close associate of the Gandhi family who has been in the party for over 50 years.
Meanwhile, the party announced on Sunday that the CWC will meet on August 10. The party had said earlier that the CWC will meet after the Parliament session ends next Wednesday.
Asked about growing voices within the Congress calling for Priyanka Gandhi to take over as party chief, Karan Singh said it has to be her decision and if she agrees to take up the responsibility, he will welcome it.
She has to take a decision and can't be bulldozed into taking up the party presidency, the 88-year-old leader said.
Asked if Priyanka Gandhi would be a suitable candidate for Congress president, Singh said, "Considering the situation and considering that she belongs to this family, she will probably be a unifying force."
How well Priyanka Gandhi does as Congress president, remains to be seen, he added.
"She is a very intelligent young lady. She did well on the Sonbhadra issue when she went there (to meet victims of the massacre). She speaks well, she has got a good personality, carries herself well. So yes, if she agrees (to be Congress president), then why not," Singh said.
The former Union minister said Priyanka Gandhi will certainly be able to enthuse the people in the party and will be an asset as Congress chief.
Singh also asserted that the process for putting in place a new president should be strictly according to the party Constitution.
His remarks assume significance as they come after Amarinder Singh and Tharoor both backed Priyanka to throw her hat into the ring when the call for Congress presidency polls is made.
On their remarks about a young leader being more suitable to take on the mantle of party president, he said there has been a generational change in the country with which one has to adjust and accept.
"Therefore, prima facie if we can get a younger leader, it would be a good idea. I back their view if we get a suitable young leader. There must be a generational change. Rahul (as party chief) himself was a generational change," the former governor of Jammu and Kashmir said.
"Younger leaders across the board --for PCC presidents and so on -- have to be brought in. Other things being equal, I would prefer a younger leader (for party president's post)," he asserted.
Singh said the way forward for the party is to elect somebody as the interim leader.
"If Priyanka Vadra is agreeable, elect her, if not then elect somebody else. Then get on with the job (of electing the party president) according to the Congress constitution. They cannot carry on like this. This will be seriously detrimental to the party," he said.
Talking about the delay in the appointment of the Congress president, Singh said "definitely the Congress has been harmed" because a vast organisation like it cannot remain headless.
"I have made statements that it has been very clearly laid down in the Congress constitution that if such an exigency arises then the senior-most general secretary should deal with the routine tasks of the Congress president and the working committee should name an interim president until the AICC elects a new president," he said.
That process somehow doesn't seem to have happened, as a result of which over two months have passed now and there is no clarity about the Congress leadership, he said.
"We have a lot of eminent people in the Congress...but they don't seem to be able to get their act together, which I think is unfortunate," the veteran Congress leader said.
Singh said Rahul Gandhi's letter on July 3 made it very clear that he had already resigned.
"After all he is a very fine young man. He has got many years of politics ahead of him. If under the circumstances he made a decision that he wanted to resign, it is his decision, and we must honour that decision," Singh said.
"We wasted one month pleading with him to take back his resignation which I don't think was necessary because he is not a whimsical person that he will today make a decision and tomorrow take it back," Singh said.
On whether all top leadership positions in the party should be opened up for elections, Singh said the party should act as per the Constitution, with the CWC partially elected and partially nominated.
Singh asserted that the party needs a complete overhaul at all levels.
Gandhi had made it clear that he will not continue as president and neither will any member of his family be the next chief. The CWC has not accepted the resignation yet.
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Assam records nearly 18 pc voter turnout in first two hours of assembly polls
Guwahati (PTI): A voter turnout of 17.87 per cent was recorded in the first two hours of the assembly elections in Assam, where the BJP-led NDA is seeking a third consecutive term in power, while the Congress is striving to reclaim a state it lost a decade ago.
Polling began at 7 am for the 126-member assembly, and 17.87 per cent of the state's 2.5 crore voters exercised their franchise till 9 am, officials said.
A total of 722 candidates are in the fray for the elections, which is largely witnessing a direct contest between the BJP-led ruling coalition and the opposition bloc helmed by the Congress.
The river island of Majuli recorded the highest turnout in the first two hours at 20.03 per cent, while Tamulpur in the Bodoland Territorial Region witnessed the lowest at 15.32 per cent.
Voters began queuing outside polling booths since early morning, despite rain in many parts of the state.
Prominent candidates who have cast their votes so far include Leader of the Opposition Debabrata Saikia in Nazira, Assam Jatiya Parishad president Lurinjyoti Gogoi in Khowang, and BJP's Pradyut Bordoloi.
Votes are being cast at 31,490 polling stations across the 35 districts of the state, with polling concluding at 5 pm.
Among the heavyweight candidates whose fates would be decided in this election are Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, state Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, AIUDF chief Badruddin Ajmal and Raijor Dal leader Akhil Gogoi.
The Congress has fielded the highest number of candidates at 99, followed by the BJP with 90. The AIUDF has 30 candidates, while NDA constituents Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and Bodoland People's Front (BPF) are contesting 26 and 11 seats, respectively.
In the opposition bloc, Raijor Dal is contesting 13 seats, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) 10, CPI(M) 3 and APHLC 2. Other parties in the fray include AAP (18), UPPL (18), TMC (22), JMM (16), besides 258 Independents.
Algapur-Katlicherra and Karimganj South have the highest number of candidates at 15 each, while nine constituencies -- Rangia, Jagiroad (SC), Hojai, Naduar, Jonai (ST), Doomdooma, Mahmora, Teok and Lakhipur -- have only two candidates each.
