NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister and Congress President ,P.V .Narasimha Rao has been dragging his feet on the formation of the Congress Working Committee which has been tangled in a controversy since the Tirupati session of the party.

Though three weeks have elapsed since the elections to the CWC at the party’s plenary and 10 days since all the elected members unanimously authorized Narasimha Rao to take the necessary steps to accommodate weaker sections and complete the formation of the apex body, no decision has been forth-coming either on the resignations from the CWC or On the nominations to the party’s highest organ.

While the party spokesman have been promising daily that the announcement would be made “in a day or two,” informed sources disclosed here that the Congress President was waiting for the passage of the Finance Bill, crucial for the continuance of government, to be over before making an announcement which is bound to create heart burning in a section of the party.

The delay in the constitution of the CWC is also holding up the formation of the Central Parliamentary Board of the Party. The CWC would have to set up the CPB soon as the names of the party candidates have to be finalized soon for the by-elections announced for June. Interesting} enough, the Congress party constitution provides for the setting up of the CPB by the Working Committee and not by the party president.

Though strictly speaking, the Central Election Committee of the party comprising the CPB and seven others elected by the AICC, are empowered to select the candidates for elections, the CEC is unlikely to be constituted in the near future as party men do not see a special AICC session being called for the purpose in the next few weeks or even months. The CPB is expected to discharge the function of selecting candidates as in the past,

There is unhappiness in the party over the delay in decision making. This, say party men, is frittering away the gains of Tirupati. The matter might come up at the session end meeting of the Congress Parliamentary Party.

According to Congress sources, P.V.N. Rao may announce the nominated team in two stages. He may first announce the general secretaries of the party, who have to be from amongst the members of the CWC, and finalize the remaining the names a little later Those being considered for general secretary ship are Ahmed Patel, Nawal Kishore Sharma, Janardhan Poojary and Sushil Kumar Shinde,

While Ahmed is from the community and was elected to the CWC, Sharma is a Brahmin from Rajasthan and belongs to the Hari deo Joshi group opposed to the PC C Chief Parasram Maderna, Poojary, who is an AICC general secretary, is a backward class leader from Karnataka, Shinde is a Scheduled caste leader from Maharashtra who was in the state government headed by Sharad Pawar but fell out with him.

The Prime Minister is trying to ensure that the new CWC team will confiscate. a particular balance in the party and represents different regions as well as communities. This is understood to be posing a major problem for Narasimha Rao.

Rao is expected to offer the party treasure ship to Sitaram Kesri, says Congress sources,

But Kesri would have to decide whether he wants to take up office in the party or in Government. In the event of the party veteran opting for minister ship, which is likely, the Congress president would have to ensure over representation to Bihar, for no member from the state was elected to the cwc.

Article extracted from this publication >> May 22, 1992