If Kharge demits the president’s post, the obvious replacement is K C Venugopal, who is already party general secretary in charge of the organisation and has Gandhi’s ear.
After
the Congress’s fraught delay in nominating V D Satheesan as Kerala Chief
Minister, the focus has shifted to 83-year-old Congress President Mallikarjun
Kharge. Some complain that Kharge is turning into a bit of a liability because
of his excess baggage. Kharge violates the principle of one man, one post —
apart from being party president, he is also Leader of the Opposition in Rajya
Sabha and enjoys the perks that come with the office.
Rahul
Gandhi is particularly upset with Kharge’s lack of judgment in the Tamil Nadu
poll. The party president, along with P Chidambaram, insisted that the Congress
not break its long-standing alliance with the DMK, although Rahul Gandhi was
keen for an electoral tie-up with the charismatic film star C Joseph Vijay, who
eventually ended up as chief minister. The Congress ditched the DMK only after
the results. It won a mere five seats with the DMK alliance.
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