Cong goes to polls from April 1

Come April 1 and the Congress will kick start a massive countrywide exercise of conducting organisational elections across the country.

Come April 1 and the Congress will kick start a massive countrywide exercise of conducting organisational elections across the country.

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The footprints of Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi’s vision of internal democracy in the form of free, fair and transparent polls in the Youth Congress and the National Students Union of India are expected to be seen in the country’s grand old party.

The last organisational elections in the Congress were held in 2005 when Sonia Gandhi was elected the party president uncontested. But in 2000, Gandhi had faced and won the contest against Jitendra Prasada for the post.

The five-phased elections will be held at all levels and is expected to end on July 31. Scheduled to be held in 2009, the polls were postponed in view of the 15th Lok Sabha elections.

In the first phase, elections will be held at the primary level from April 1 to April 30. These will be followed at the block level from May 15 to May 30 and at the district level from June 7 to June 27. The polls for state chiefs, All India Congress Committee (AICC) members and party president would be held between July 5 and July 25.

According to the Congress constitution, the president enjoys a three-year term starting from his/her appointment during the AICC plenary session.

During the interim period of election and formal appointment at the plenary, the person acts as the president-elect.