Congress's new diktat to office bearers on campaigning for party president poll candidate

Congress General Secretaries, state in-charges and presidents, legislature party leaders and spokespersons will have to resign from their posts if they want to campaign for one of the two candidates for the party president election.

Violation of the seven-point guidelines issued on Monday will render the candidature invalid and make them liable for disciplinary action.

This is among “important guidelines” issued by Congress’ Central Election Authority (CEA) chairperson and Returning Officer for the presidential election Madhusudan Mistry, as Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor started their campaigns.

Mistry said Kharge and Tharoor are contesting “in their personal capacity” and delegates are “free to elect any one of them” as per their choice through ballot.

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AICC General Secretaries, in-charges, secretaries, joint secretaries, state presidents, CLP leaders, heads of frontal organisations, chiefs of departments or cells and all official spokespersons should not campaign for or against contesting candidates, the guidelines said.

“If they wish to support any campaign for any candidate, they must first resign from their organisational post, after that they participate in the campaign process,” it said.

On Sunday, Deepender Hooda, Syed Nasir Hussain and Gourav Vallabh said they had resigned as national spokespersons to campaign for Kharge, as per the directions of the election authority and Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

While Kharge quit as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha after entering the contest, Tharoor on Monday said he had quit as All India Professional Congress chairperson last month itself and sent the letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Senior leader Pawan Khera said he had sought leave as Congress Media Department chairperson to campaign for the candidate of his choice. He said General Secretary (Communications) Jairam Ramesh “did not grant me leave citing compulsions of running the department. I will have to make do with just voting for the candidate”.

With the two candidates all set to visit states, the CEA has asked state presidents to “extend courtesy to the candidates” during their visits to states. The state presidents should provide “meeting halls, chairs and other equipment for public announcement” to the candidate who wishes to hold the meeting of state delegates who vote in the presidential election.

“However, no such meeting can be called by the PCC (state) president in their personal capacity. Organising the meeting is the task of the proposer or the supporters of the contesting candidate,” the guidelines said.

Candidates are also barred from ferrying voters in vehicles. No “undesired pamphleteering or any other kind of publication propaganda” is allowed.

The guidelines said utmost care should be taken to ensure that there is no mala-fide campaign against any candidate. “The same would bring disgrace to the party. The sensitivity of the election process must be upheld at any cost,” it said.