Congress may face 'internal hurdles' on 'One family, one ticket' proposal at Chintan Shivir

New Delhi: With the three-day 'Chintan Shivir' (brain-storming camp) commencing on Friday (May 13) to discuss ways to revive its political fortunes, the Congress is likely to confabulate the issue of "one family, one ticket" which has been recommended by a subgroup so as to attract youth in the party.

The issue may face stiff opposition as many senior leaders have their sons and daughters in politics and remain hopeful for a ticket in election or an organisational post in the party for them too.

Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge`s son is a politician in Karnataka, similarly, former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda is an MLA and his son Deepinder Hooda is a Rajya Sabha MP, among others. 

Even in the Gandhi family, both party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi are Lok Sabha members.

Although the Congress sub-group has recommended giving only one ticket per family so that big leaders do not corner party tickets and deny a place to the genuine hard workers, this rule was flouted in the recently concluded Goa and Uttarakhand assembly polls.

Sources told IANS that the party may adopt this formula with one election, one ticket tweak - or that no other family member of a candidate will get a ticket in that Assembly polls. The Chintan Shivir is likely to come with more clarity on this issue.

Earlier on Monday, former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh asserted that the Chintan Shivir is not a destination of the Congress, but a milestone, adding that the Shivir is being organised not to draft a manifesto, but to prepare an action plan to revive and strengthen the Congress so that it can deal with the present-day political and organisational challenges.

The heads of various departments of Congress, office bearers, former Union ministers and MPs would all participate in the Chintan Shivir. A total of 422 members will be present in the Shivir, of which 30-35 per cent will be youth and 21 per cent women.

Congress will come out with new energy after Chintan Shivir: Vivek Tankha

The party's 'G-23' dissident group member, Vivek Tankha, has said that he wants the organization to get a new and strong look after the brainstorming session. The Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh expressed confidence that his party would come out with new vigour after the 'Chintan Shivir'.

Tankha was among the 23 Congress leaders, considered dissidents, who wrote a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi in August 2020 seeking an organizational revamp. "I am heading to Udaipur to take part in the Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir. We are hopeful that the party will come out with new energy after the event," he told reporters in Indore on Thursday. 

The lawyer-politician said he will do everything possible to infuse a new life in the Congress, adding "I want to see the Congress in a new and powerful avatar because the Congress is the natural party of governance in India. If we want to keep the country intact, the Congress has to be powerful again."

The 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' is being held against the backdrop of a string of electoral defeats and dissent in the party for the past many years. It will focus on time-bound party restructuring, finding ways to combat politics of polarisation and getting battle-ready for upcoming electoral challenges. 

(With Agency Inputs)