“99.9% of the people, including me, want Rahul Gandhi to be elected party chairman”: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi:
Congress will soon begin the process of electing a new chief and the leaders of the “99.9 percent” want Rahul Gandhi to return as party chairman, its main spokesman said today.
As part of the process, Sonia Gandhi will hold meetings with senior party leaders for the next 10 days, starting tomorrow, Randeep Surjewala said.
The Gandhis will also meet with the 23 “dissidents” who wrote a letter in August calling for radical organizational changes to stop a “leadership drift.”
“The party will soon begin the procedure to elect a new party chair. An electoral college of Congress, members of the AICC (All India Congress Committee), congressional workers and members will choose who is the most suitable,” Surjewala said.
He added: “99.9% of the people, including myself, want Rahul Gandhi to be elected party chairman.” The final decision is yours.
Rahul Gandhi, who replaced Sonia Gandhi as president of Congress in 2017, resigned last year after the debacle of the party’s national elections, the second since he lost power in 2014.
Rahul Gandhi’s resignation unfolded into dramatic scenes in Congress as leader after leader tried to persuade the 50-year-old to change his mind, but failed. After weeks of limbo, Sonia Gandhi, who headed Congress for 19 years, agreed to return as acting chief.
Rahul Gandhi, in a lengthy resignation letter, stated that a person other than Gandhi should head the 135-year-old organization that has been run primarily by members of the Nehru-Gandhi family.
Sources say that Rahul Gandhi has practically ruled out his return as president of Congress.
The choice of a non-Gandhi raises the possibility of a nasty leadership fight in Congress; Despite factions and infighting, deference to the Gandhis has always been a unifying factor for the organization.
Although many leaders and workers have reportedly called for Rahul Gandhi’s return to the highest office, sources close to him indicate that there are no changes in his position.
However, Rahul Gandhi still makes all the decisions and is the face of the party in the attacks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP.
Congress’s losing streak has continued since the defeat of the national elections. Since then, it has lost Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh to rebellion and clings to Rajasthan against constant threats of revolt. Congress also finished as the worst actor in the Bihar elections and has seen its votes drop further in polls by local bodies in states such as Kerala and Rajasthan.
Rahul Gandhi has been criticized by some allies, and senior leaders, without naming names, have called for “active and visible leadership.”
But without him in the equation, the party faces a difficult decision about its next boss. Sources say that the party apparatus remains under their control and important decisions are made with their approval.
For a section of leaders, sources say, Rahul Gandhi remains “the natural choice” to lead the party. Sonia Gandhi, 74, has made it clear that she is only a placeholder.
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