THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Breaking the 20-year-old precedence, the AICC has decided to make it a competition among workers to reach the Congress Working Committee through polls. According to this rule, the Highcommand has requested congress workers having voting rights in the AICC to submit names. With such a move, the state congress workers that will get involved in the CWC polls will restrict to 41.

Along with the 41 names, the congress leadership from Kerala has earlier asked for another 27 nominated names to be involved in the list. So, the numbers will soon expand to 68. According to the party constitution, the working committee shall consist of the president of the Congress, the Leader of the Congress Party in Parliament and 23 other members of whom 12 members will be elected by the AICC, as per rules prescribed by the CWC and the rest shall be appointed by the president.

From 2001, 12 CWC members among a total of 23 were nominated by the party's high command. It is being said that the top brass including Rahul Gandhi has asked for change from the long-established rule which many hope will invigorate a spirit of fight within the congress members.