Congress' one family one ticket agreed upon with a Gandhi clause

New Delhi, May 13: The Congress is set to adopt a "one family, one ticket" policy at the party's Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) in Rajasthan's Udaipur and fix five-year terms for office-bearers followed by a cooling period of three years. The rule is likely to be adopted at the end of the Chintan Shivir which kicked off on Friday with the opening remarks by Congress President Sonia Gandhi.

The one family one ticket rule and the exception formula will apply across ranks including the Congress's ruling Gandhi family.

Speaking ahead of the commencement of the Shivir, Congress general secretary Ajay Maken said unanimity had nearly emerged on formalising the one party one ticket rule. The idea, as the name suggests, would ensure just one post for a leader.

He said, "There's almost complete unanimity among panel members on the proposal that to ensure that party leaders don't give tickets to their kin or relatives without any work in the party, at least 5 yrs of prior work in the party will be required."

He said a proposal is being considered that 50 per cent party positions be reserved for those less than 50 years of age in party committees at every level of the Congress organisation.

Maken, who is a member of the coordination committee on organisation for discussion at the Chintan Shivir, said the party is deliberating on setting up a 'public insight department' to ascertain views of the people and carry out surveys for getting battle ready for elections

The Congress is also considering setting up an 'assessment wing' to gauge performance of office bearers, he said.
"We are also working on a mechanism for enforcing stricter discipline," he said.

What are the norms?

According to the one-ticket-one-family rule, only one member of the family will be given a ticket to fight the elections. Exceptions, however, will be made for those who have worked in the party for at least five years.

The 'one-man-one-post' rule dictates that a leader can only hold one position in the party or a possible role in any government.

But the party may face hurdles in this change as many senior leaders have their sons and daughters in politics and remain hopeful for ticket in election or a organisational post in the party for them too.

'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir'

The 'Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir' is being held in the backdrop of a string of electoral defeats and dissent in the party for the past many years.

The Shivir will focus on time-bound party restructuring, finding ways to combat politics of polarisation and getting battle-ready for upcoming electoral challenges.

It will begin Friday afternoon following which over 400 delegates will discuss subject-specific issues across six groups.

These discussions will continue on the first and second day and the conclusions will be recorded in the form of a declaration, a draft of which will be discussed at the CWC meeting to be held there on the third and last day.