New Delhi:
Congress chief Sonia Gandhi’s technique session together with her social gathering’s 40 Rajya Sabha MPs was one other “Convey again Rahul Gandhi” session, reflecting its longstanding religion within the Nehru-Gandhi management. The decision to have Mr Gandhi again on the high submit got here as a piece of social gathering veterans together with Kapil Sibal and Shashi Tharoor questioned the management because the social gathering faces its worst ever decline.
Within the current months, it has misplaced one of many three heartland states it gained in 2018, and is battling a disaster in one other as Mr Gandhi’s closest aide Jyotiraditya Scindia defected to the BJP and one of the crucial promising younger leaders, Sachin Pilot, rebelled.
Most leaders who attended as we speak’s session — together with KC Venugopal, Rajeev Satav, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, G C Chandrashekher — reiterated that the social gathering wants rebuilding and it may be finest achieved by the 49-year-old on the helm.
Mrs Gandhi’s shut aide Ahmed Patel requested for a mix of kids in addition to seniors, within the management roles — a system that backfired in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. The variations between the previous guard and the brand new have saved the social gathering divided since Rahul Gandhi was made the social gathering basic secretary in 2007.
In March, Jyotiraditya Scindia walked over to the BJP with 22 aides, bringing down the Kamal Nath authorities in Madhya Pradesh. In Rajasthan, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is battling to avoid wasting his authorities as Sachin Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him have damaged ranks with the social gathering. Each leaders complained of being mistreated and sidelined by their bosses.
The rift confirmed up it its sharpest when Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the previous boss of Sachin Pilot, spoke up in opposition to younger leaders with “good-looking faces” who spoke “good English”.
In the present day, a number of MPs together with Dijivijaya Singh stated in states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, the “group” has been hijacked by leaders like Mr Scindia and Mr Pilot and it needs to be rebuilt from scratch. “These children have been given an excessive amount of too quickly and have not had the run of the mill,” stated sources near Mr Singh.
Mr Gandhi, who has been largely silent concerning the troubles within the social gathering, didn’t attend the session. Sonia Gandhi gave a listening to to the calls for, however didn’t remark.
Earlier than quitting the social gathering’s high job in July final yr following its decimation within the Lok Sabha polls, Mr Gandhi made it clear that neither he nor any member of his household would take cost of the social gathering. In a number of inner conferences, he stated his mom Sonia Gandhi or sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra shouldn’t be roped into the highest job.
However subsequently, Sonia Gandhi, who had taken a back-seat for the final a number of years in view of her well being, was persuaded to take up the reins because the social gathering’s interim president.
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