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New Delhi: If one picture could sum up what ails the Congress, it is the frame showing an array of leaders standing in the front row at the Independence Day event last Thursday at the party headquarters when interim chief Sonia Gandhi hoisted the national flag.

The average age of leaders in the front row is approximately 70.7 years — a clear sign that the party is ageing in the absence of fresh talent. Most of these leaders are members of the party’s top decision making body, the Congress Working Committee, whose average age is 69 years.

It was in 2007 that Rahul Gandhi was appointed AICC general secretary in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress and the NSUI. He embarked on an ambitious ‘democratisation’ process, holding internal elections in these organisations, with the promise of giving an opportunity to the youth to join the political mainstream.

Twelve years later, the picture above is proof that he failed.

The old guard

At Sonia Gandhi’s first public event since taking over as interim chief, a flock of leaders of the party’s ‘old guard’ descended upon the Congress headquarters — from Motilal Vora (91), the oldest in the group, to Rahul Gandhi (49), the youngest.

The event was attended by Manmohan Singh (86), A.K. Antony (78), Anand Sharma (66), Ahmed Patel (69), Kapil Sibal (71), Bhupinder Hooda (71), Mohsina Kidwai (87), Kumari Selja (56), Jagdish Tytler (75), Salman Khurshid (66), Subodh Kant Sahay (68), Ghulam Nabi Azad (70) and K.C. Venugopal (56), among others.

Even the young leaders, mostly dynasts who rose up the ranks, don’t have a voice in the decision-making process. It was evident when many leaders such as Deepender Hooda, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Jitin Prasada, among others, supported the NDA government’s move to scrap Article 370, making a departure from the party line decided by veterans such as P. Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad. These younger leaders accused the seniors of being “unable to sense the public mood”.

Also read: Not terrorists, not Congress nor voters, this is who scares PM Narendra Modi the most

Batting for young blood

Many within the Congress feel that the party needs young blood to recover from the setback of the Lok Sabha elections.

Former Union minister Karan Singh suggested appointing four working presidents for the north, south, east and west zones, to introduce “younger people into positions of authority”. Singh has strongly urged the CWC to convene under the chairmanship of former prime minister Manmohan Singh and take the decision.

But Karan Singh wasn’t the only one making a case for inducting younger leaders in positions of power. Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh Saturday batted for a “charismatic gen-next leader who can enthuse the people with her or his pan-India appeal and grassroots presence”.

Even former Mumbai Congress president Milind Deora made a case for Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister Sachin Pilot or former MP Jyotiraditya Scindia.

However, despite Rahul opting for a “larger democratic consultation” to elect the new chief, the party decided to go with former president Sonia in the time of crisis, leaving many in the party “disappointed”.

“We can sit here and talk about non-dynast, but on the ground, no one recognises them. At this point, the party needs a Gandhi,” a senior Congress leader told ThePrint.

Also read: What made Sonia Gandhi repeat history and take charge of Congress again

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