Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Congress president Sonia Gandhi will continue to lead the party till a new president is elected later this year.
However, during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on Sunday, she said the Gandhi family is ready to make any sacrifice for the future of the party.
During the four-and-half-hour meeting, Sonia said if the CWC feels that the family is responsible for the state of the party, “she will abide by the wisdom of the CWC”.
“The CWC unanimously reaffirms its faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and requests the Congress President to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary & comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges,” said General Secretary in charge of organisation KC Venugopal.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said the party needs to look at new strategies to counter the BJP as old strategies won’t work. Sources said senior party leader and member of G23 Ghulam Nabi Azad called to fix responsibility for the party’s poll debacle and Sonia agreed.
He also talked about certain late decisions including leadership change in Punjab and the election management in Uttarakhand.
Sonia replied she was the one shielding former Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh for long.
General Secretary in charge of UP, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said there was no organsiation in the state when she started, but the work done by her and the state unit will bear fruit.
The CWC agreed to hold a Chintan Shivir after the budget session of the parliament in April to brainstorm future strategies.
“Every leader wants Rahul ji to lead the party but the election process has started and August 20 is the date for the presidential election,” said media in charge RS Surjewala.
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some G-23 leaders on Sunday said they have been seeking corrective measures only to strengthen the party but a few have vilified them as those working at the BJP’s behest, and asserted that this must stop as they remain “lifelong Congressmen”.
They also said that they are “not political tourists” and the Congress leadership must be conscious of rumour-mongers giving mischievous twists to their suggestions.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik were the only three from the Group of 23 leaders, who have repeatedly pressed for organisational overhaul, present at the meeting of the CWC, which has a large number of Gandhi family loyalists.
“Today, when we talk of introspection and accountability, words are mischievously twisted, giving an impression by some within the party that it is a rebellion. We have been lifelong Congress members and have remained so in the party for 50-long years,” a G-23 leader was quoted as saying at the meeting.
The leaders also said that those coming from other parties should not be made state Congress chiefs and squabbling in state units should stop.
One of the G-23 leaders also pointed out that “we are not political tourists” and said the party leadership has to be conscious of “rumour-mongers and naradmunis”.
The G-23 leaders present at the meeting said they were part of the organisation and would remain so and would do everything to strengthen it to ensure its success at the hustings, sources said.
According to sources, Sharma said the Congress has to revive itself in the Hindi heartland by adhering to its core ideology and not flirt with any form of fundamentalism or communalism of any community.
He also said that the recent defeat in assembly elections cannot be viewed in isolation and immediate corrective measures must be taken.
The deputy leader of the Congress in Rajya Sabha said that in continuity of the string of defeats, the question to be pondered over is “why are we being rejected?”, according to the sources.
Sharma also pointed out that the defeat of the Congress in Punjab and Uttarakhand were ominous signs for the party as it prepares for the Himachal Pradesh polls later this year.
He said the surge of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab is a challenge and a collective effort is required to strengthen the party, and it cannot be business as usual.
The sources said Azad stated at the meeting that an honest dialogue and discussion should take place in the CWC which has been the Congress’ tradition since the days of Jawaharlal Nehru when there used to be heated discussions, arguments and walkouts during brainstorming sessions.
Azad said they were making suggestions for strengthening the party but some within the party dubbed them as working at the behest of the BJP.
He also called for collective introspection.
One G-23 leader also suggested a dialogue with like-minded parties and bring them on one platform to help displace the BJP from the Centre in 2024.
The sources said Wasnik shared data to point out that the Congress had only 14 seats in Lok Sabha from Jammu to Nagpur, and must correct itself to win back people’s faith.
Wasnik also pointed out that the Congress has lost 39 out of 49 elections held since 2014 and questioned why the party has embarked on a soft Hindutva ideology.
Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said every Congress worker and leader wants Rahul Gandhi to lead the party, but as the process of organisational polls is underway, the next president will be decided through it.
Amid calls for large-scale reforms to revive the party’s dwindling electoral fortunes, AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, at a press conference after the CWC meeting, said the party president will immediately take corrective measures to revamp and re-strengthen the organisation.
The Congress will hold a ‘Chintan Shivir’ (brainstorming session) soon after the Budget Session of Parliament and the CWC will meet again before that, Venugopal said.
The session is scheduled to end on April 8.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot suggested that the ‘Chintan Shivir be held in his state.
Later, leaders said this brainstorming session of three-four days would chalk out the future roadmap and strategy in order to address challenges.
Several leaders, after the meeting, said that Gandhi in her introductory remarks said she is ready “to make any and every sacrifice as Congress workers and the CWC wish in the interest of the party”.
These comments were seen by many as her readiness to even quit if required and felt necessary by the party leadership.
She listened to all leaders at the CWC meet and left the decision to the wisdom of members, including those of the G-23, who reposed full faith in her.
“Every single member of the CWC wants Sonia Gandhi to guide the party till organisational elections are held,” Surjewala said, adding that the new Congress chief will be elected between August 21 and September 20.
The CWC members also said that the BJP-RSS attack the Gandhi family only to weaken the Congress.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi at the meet talked about ways to strengthen the organisation and win back the faith of the people.
At the crucial meeting, some G-23 leaders said they have been seeking corrective measures only to strengthen the party but a few have vilified them as those working at the BJP’s behest, and asserted that this must stop as they remain “lifelong Congressmen”.
They also said that they are “not political tourists” and the Congress leadership must be conscious of rumour-mongers giving mischievous twists to their suggestions.
AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, K C Venugopal, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, party’s leader in Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and P Chidambaram were among those who attended the meet.
The general secretaries, in-charges and senior observers of states where polls were held including Priyanka Gandhi, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, senior leaders Chidambaram and Jairam Ramesh made detailed presentations and submitted reports.
They listed reasons behind the party’s defeat and its shortcomings while suggesting measures to revive its electoral fortunes.
Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik were the only three from the Group of 23 leaders, who have repeatedly pressed for organisation overhaul, present at the meeting of the CWC, which has a large number of Gandhi family loyalists.
The G-23 leaders said they were part of the organisation and would remain so and would do everything to strengthen it to ensure its success at the hustings, sources said.
“Today, when we talk of introspection and accountability, words are mischievously twisted, giving an impression by some within the party that it is a rebellion.
We have been lifelong Congress members and have remained so in the party for 50-long years,” a G-23 leader was quoted as saying at the meeting.
Surjewala said the CWC discussed what went wrong in assembly elections and senior leaders including Azad and Digvijay Singh gave suggestions.
A statement adopted by the CWC said the recent assembly election results of five states are a “cause of serious concern” for the party.
The Congress accepted that due to shortcomings in its strategy, it could not effectively “expose the misrule” of BJP state governments in four states — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Goa — and overcome the anti-incumbency in Punjab in the short time after effecting a change of leadership.
Few months before the polls, the Congress had removed Amarinder Singh as Punjab chief minister, replacing him with Charanjit Singh Channi.
The sources said Punjab in-charge Harish Chaudhary listed infighting and the late removal of Amarinder Singh as the main reasons for the party’s decimation.
Priyanka Gandhi said there was nothing in the name of an organisation in Uttar Pradesh when she took over and the steps taken now would “bear fruit” in the future.
“Congress represents the hopes of millions of Indians against political authoritarianism prevailing in the country today and the party is fully conscious of its immense responsibility,” the CWC said.
While humbly accepting the electoral verdict of the latest round of assembly elections, the Congress assures its workers and the people of India that it will continue to remain a vigilant and vibrant opposition, it said.
The Congress will be fully prepared to face the electoral challenges in the election going states in 2022 and 2023 as well as in the Lok Sabha elections 2024, the CWC said.
The CWC also “unanimously” reaffirmed its faith in the leadership Sonia Gandhi and urged the Congress president to lead from the front, address the organisational weaknesses, effect necessary and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges.
Former prime minister Manmohan Singh did not attend the meeting.
Senior party leader A K Antony was also not present as he has contracted Covid.
The Congress lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party, could not wrest Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur from the BJP and the party’s tally in politically crucial Uttar Pradesh fell to its lowest.
While Sonia Gandhi has not been actively campaigning for some time, Rahul Gandhi, along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, had been the star campaigner for the Congress in the polls, with the brother-sister duo also playing a major role in key decisions of the party.
Despite a high-pitched campaign led by Priyanka Gandhi, the Congress could manage to win only two of the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh with the vote share plummeting to a meagre 2.33 percent and most of its candidates losing security deposits.
Ahead of the meeting, the chorus for making Rahul Gandhi the Congress president again grew louder as several leaders and workers voiced support for him to take on the mantle of party chief.
Gehlot said no one was taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi as Rahul Gandhi does and was fighting resolutely.
“All of us want that Rahul ji should take on the mantle of party leadership,” he told reporters.
Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in general elections in 2019.
Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, had also offered to quit in August 2020 after strong criticism by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.
Meanwhile, the Congress said it would work with like-minded parties during the second half of the budget session starting on Monday to raise people-related issues of unemployment, inflation and evacuation of Indian students from Ukraine.
(With PTI Inputs)
