During the Chintan Shivir in Udaipur, Congress party has insisted that when ‘1 family, 1 ticket’ rule is put in place, there will be conditions and exemptions to it. The party announced that a second member of the family may be considered for a ticket if the person has worked for the party for at least five years. The aspiring person must have contributed to the party’s organizational work for at least five years to be considered for a ticket.
According to industry experts, this move actually forms a sort of a safety net for the Gandhi family, as both Rahul and Priyanka would be eligible for a ticket. In case, Sonia Gandhi steps back from actively participating in polls due to health or other reasons, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi could still be involved in electoral politics. This would also be the same for other strong families that have been with Congress for decades.
Another proposal on the table was to invite leaders younger than 50 to join the party and reserve at least 50% seats for member of the age-group. This proposal too was apparently met with much resistance, as the party said that traditional way will continue. Congress said that the party believed in supporting both the youth and the experienced members.
On the other hand, Congress has decided to launch a Jan Jagran Abhiyan 2.0, the second phase of the mass contact programme to take on the policies of the government as well as rising inflation and unemployment in the country. “Sonia Ji and Rahul Ji are very keen about hitting Modi’s governance by targeting socio-economic and political policy governance”, AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal told VOI.
