<p>The Congress is likely to convene the AICC plenary within a month to ratify the appointment of Sonia Gandhi as the president of the party.</p>.<p>The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday night had appointed Sonia as the interim president of the party after attempts by senior leaders to convince Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation failed to bear fruit.</p>.<p>After deliberating for nearly four hours in two separate sittings on Saturday, the CWC finally adopted a resolution thanking Rahul for the services he had rendered to the organisation.</p>.<p>“Rahul Gandhi gave a new sense of aggression and modernity to the party organisation and opened up numerous opportunities for the younger generation. He inspired every Congress worker through his never-say-die attitude and earned their admiration and respect,” the CWC resolution said.</p>.<p>In a separate resolution, the CWC requested Sonia to accept the responsibility of the interim president of the party.</p>.<p>“We will convene the AICC plenary within a month to ratify Soniaji’s appointment,” a CWC member told DH clarifying that the CWC only had powers to appoint an interim president.</p>.<p>The immediate challenge before Sonia is to read the riot act on party discipline to the leaders, several of whom have strayed from the party line on key issues such as triple talaq and Kashmir.</p>.<p>Also, Congress is facing large-scale dissent, particularly in election-bound states such as Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced a rally on August 18, which is seen in party circles as an attempt at showing his strength against state unit chief Ashok Tanwar.</p>.<p>In Jharkhand, state Congress chief Ajoy Kumar has quit the party hitting out at party leaders, terming them as bigger criminals than what he had faced during his tenure as an IPS officer.</p>.<p>In Maharashtra, the Congress is a demoralised force with top leadership quitting the party to join the BJP.</p>
<p>The Congress is likely to convene the AICC plenary within a month to ratify the appointment of Sonia Gandhi as the president of the party.</p>.<p>The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Saturday night had appointed Sonia as the interim president of the party after attempts by senior leaders to convince Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation failed to bear fruit.</p>.<p>After deliberating for nearly four hours in two separate sittings on Saturday, the CWC finally adopted a resolution thanking Rahul for the services he had rendered to the organisation.</p>.<p>“Rahul Gandhi gave a new sense of aggression and modernity to the party organisation and opened up numerous opportunities for the younger generation. He inspired every Congress worker through his never-say-die attitude and earned their admiration and respect,” the CWC resolution said.</p>.<p>In a separate resolution, the CWC requested Sonia to accept the responsibility of the interim president of the party.</p>.<p>“We will convene the AICC plenary within a month to ratify Soniaji’s appointment,” a CWC member told DH clarifying that the CWC only had powers to appoint an interim president.</p>.<p>The immediate challenge before Sonia is to read the riot act on party discipline to the leaders, several of whom have strayed from the party line on key issues such as triple talaq and Kashmir.</p>.<p>Also, Congress is facing large-scale dissent, particularly in election-bound states such as Haryana, Maharashtra and Jharkhand. The former chief minister of Haryana Bhupinder Singh Hooda has announced a rally on August 18, which is seen in party circles as an attempt at showing his strength against state unit chief Ashok Tanwar.</p>.<p>In Jharkhand, state Congress chief Ajoy Kumar has quit the party hitting out at party leaders, terming them as bigger criminals than what he had faced during his tenure as an IPS officer.</p>.<p>In Maharashtra, the Congress is a demoralised force with top leadership quitting the party to join the BJP.</p>
