E-Paper
Congress issues QR-coded cards to delegates for party president poll
With this, probable candidates will be able identify their supporters from among the delegates and file nominations for the election to the party’s top post.
Setting the stage for a possible contest for the Congress president’s election, the party’s central poll authority on Wednesday started distributing identity cards with QR codes to delegates who would vote to choose party’s new chief on October 17.
With this, probable candidates will be able identify their supporters from among the delegates and file nominations for the election to the party’s top post. Around 9,200 delegates will receive the I-card to vote in the Congress president’s election, which according to several party leaders, is likely to be a contest among multiple candidates.
Congress’s central election authority chairman Madhusudan Mistry and party’s data analytics chief Praveen Chakravarthy met all Pradesh Returning Officers (PROs) to discuss the upcoming election. “We discussed all the steps. I told them that the distribution of identity cards must be completed by September 20 to avoid any delay,” Mistry said.
The distribution of QR-coded identify cards—first such measure in the party poll—also signals the end of the recent controversy regarding the fairness of the selection of dignitaries and the demand to make the electoral list available.
“It will ensure transparency and make the process foolproof as details of the delegates will be available in the QR code,” said Chakravarthy, the brain behind the QR-coded I-cards.
The last time the Congress president’s election witnessed a contest was in 2000 when Jitendra Prasada, one of the senior most party leaders, decided to contest against Sonia Gandhi. While Prasada got just 94 votes, Gandhi swept the internal election with 7,542 votes. Prasada, however, was inducted in the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest executive body of the party.
Party leaders are expecting a contest this time around as well even as it is unclear if senior leader Rahul Gandhi will contest in the election. Gandhi so far has not given any indication of his plan, except saying that he has made his decisions very clear.
“Whether I become the president or not, it will become very clear when the presidential election takes place,” the former Congress president said at a press conference in Nagercoil in Tamil Nadu during the ongoing Bharat Jodo Yatra. “So wait till that time comes and if I don’t contest, then you can ask why I didn’t stand and I will answer the question.”
The polling for the Congress president’s election will take place on October 17 and the result will be announced on October 19. Candidates can file their nominations between September 24 and 30 while the last date of withdrawal will be October 8, the party said in an earlier release.
In the meeting, party functionaries said, a lot of questions related to the poll process were raised. “Some PROs were in disbelief that a proper election is actually going to happen,” said a senior leader, requesting anonymity.
While the distribution of I-cards — to be handled jointly by presidents of state units of the party and the PROs — aims at ensuring free and fair election, Mistry told the poll officials that in case of any dispute they should halt the process.
The cards and names of the delegates would be matched and their signatures would be taken. “If a delegate supports any nomination, his or her signature would be cross checked with the list,” said another leader. “All delegates would also have to pay ₹100 for the cards.”
