scorecardresearch
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Support Our Journalism
HomePoliticsRahul finally reaches Amethi, promises action against 'helicopter-flying' party leaders

Rahul finally reaches Amethi, promises action against ‘helicopter-flying’ party leaders

In Amethi for the first time since 2019 Lok Sabha poll verdict, Rahul Gandhi blamed his defeat on local leaders who stayed away from people.

Follow Us :
Text Size:

Amethi: On his first visit to Amethi since losing the Lok Sabha seat to BJP’s Smriti Irani in the 2019 general elections, Congress chief Rahul Gandhi Wednesday told party functionaries that he doesn’t blame voters for his defeat but local leaders who had stayed away from people.

Many party functionaries however sounded wary about his promises of change.

“Rahul ji said that the sangathan (the organisation) was responsible for the election defeat, not voters,” said a party worker, who attended the meeting with the Congress president.

Rahul’s interaction with the party’s booth-level workers and local leaders was laced with emotional appeals of how he regarded Amethi as an extension of his family. He projected himself as an “aam Congress man and not a naamdaar” — a label Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeatedly threw at him.

‘Amethi is family’

Having suffered an embarrassing defeat in Amethi, Rahul’s first set of meetings with party leaders and workers here saw him define the district as a “part of his family”.

A Congress worker, who attended the Amethi meeting, defined Rahul’s association with Amethi as an “emotional relationship” while another spoke about how the Congress president will continue to be a part of Amethi’s partner in “sukh aur dukh” (good and bad times).

“Rahul said that even though he is an MP from Wayanad, he will continue to work for Amethi and its people,” said Congress MLC Deepak Singh, following the hour-long meeting in Gauriganj area of the district.

Rahul’s visit comes at a time when the Congress is grappling with a severe leadership crisis after his resignation as the party chief on 3 July. He had first offered to resign as president of the Indian National Congress at a Congress Working Committee (CWC) meet on 25 May, two days after the party’s devastating defeat in the elections.

This offer was followed by a high-octane drama — from CWC’s refusal to accept the resignation, to a spate of mass resignations by the party’s Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) members and other leaders, and a party worker even attempting to commit suicide.

Rahul’s resignation also coincides with his effort to re-invent his image and that of the party’s to emerge as a credible alternative before the people.


Also read: Amethi done, BJP now plans to win Sonia Gandhi’s Rae Bareli with AIIMS, roads, railways


Blame game

Several leaders in the Amethi gathering also requested Rahul to withdraw his resignation. But a blame game ensued soon among party functionaries over who was to blame for the leader’s embarrassing defeat. In the end, Gandhi made the oft-repeated promise of overhauling the party structure in Amethi as well as the state.

MLA Singh also said that Rahul, during Wednesday’s meeting, blamed the party’s “overconfidence” and alleged misuse of the state machinery by BJP as key reasons behind its defeat.

Many other workers also called local leaders out for their “dominant” behaviour and inefficiency.

Kripa Shankar Singh, a block president from Amethi, said, “Rahul ji said that the onus of this defeat is not just on him but on all of us. Helicopter-flying leaders and campaign managers, with no connect or support to ground workers, should be held responsible. He assured us that action will be taken against them.”

Incidentally, during their maiden Lucknow visit, Congress leaders Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Jyotiraditya Scindia had made a similar promise of acting against inefficient leaders.

At the state Congress headquarters in Lucknow, Priyanka had said “helicopter candidates” will not be given party tickets.

“We have heard such assurances before the Lok Sabha polls and during review meetings held by Priyanka ji in Lucknow. Nothing came out of it then. We hope the loss of Amethi propels them into fulfilling this promise,” said a Congress worker.


Also read: Smriti Irani’s Amethi act and the rise of palatable feminism in India


Subscribe to our channels on YouTube, Telegram & WhatsApp

Support Our Journalism

India needs fair, non-hyphenated and questioning journalism, packed with on-ground reporting. ThePrint – with exceptional reporters, columnists and editors – is doing just that.

Sustaining this needs support from wonderful readers like you.

Whether you live in India or overseas, you can take a paid subscription by clicking here.

Support Our Journalism

3 COMMENTS

  1. Better late than never. Hope Rahul Gandhi will try to become a politician with a sense of purpose and seriousness.

  2. Shri Rahul Gandhi is a textbook case of bad leadership. He is refusing to take any responsibility for his defeat. Instead he is blaming “helicopter politicians”, of which he is the prime example, and the the organisation; never himself.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Most Popular