Rahul Gandhi forms new CWC, drops motormouth Digvijaya Singh and others

The Congress on Tuesday announced its first Central Working Committee under president Rahul Gandhi, seven months after it was dissolved. The new body, which is the party's highest decision-making body, has been extended to 51 members from the 25-members in the last CWC. It now includes 23 members, 18 permanent invitees and 10 special invitees. The CWC will hold its first meeting on July 22 which will be an 'extended working committee' to be attended by all state unit presidents and Congress Legislative Party leaders from all states.

Notable among those who were dropped from the CWC include Janardan Dwivedi, Digvijaya Singh, Kamal Nath, Sushilkumar Shinde, Mohan Prakash, Karan Singh, BK Hariprasad, and CP Joshi. Senior leaders who have found a place in the CWC are former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Oommen Chandy, Tarun Gogoi, Siddaramaiah and Harish Rawat, as well as Manipur deputy CM Gaikhangam.

The new CWC, which has its fair share of young leaders, includes Rajeev Satav, Shaktisinh Gohil and Gaurav Gogoi as permanent invitees, and Deepender Hooda and Jitin Prasada as special invitees.

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will be the senior members of the new CWC that will form the advisory team to lead the party into the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

The CWC has announced four months after the AICC plenary session in March ratified the election of Rahul as party chief and authorised him to set up the party's highest decision-making body. Ahead of the plenary, Rahul had turned the existing CWC into a steering committee.