New Delhi: The Congress Saturday unanimously rejected Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as president and, instead, authorised him to restructure the party following its disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), which met to discuss the party’s future, voted in favour of Gandhi staying on and passed a resolution calling on his “leadership and guidance in these challenging times”.
“The CWC unanimously called upon the Congress President, Shri Rahul Gandhi to lead the party in its ideological battle and to champion the cause of India’s youth, the farmers, the SC/ST/OBC’s, the Minorities, the poor and the deprived sections,” the resolution read.
However, sources said Rahul Gandhi continues to be adamant about stepping down, saying it is non-negotiable.
The Congress managed to improve its 2014 tally by just eight seats, winning 52 of the 542 seats. The BJP won 303, giving the Narendra Modi-led government a brute-majority second term.
In its resolution, the party said it accepted the people’s mandate, and assured it will continue to “fight against forces that thrive on hatred and division”.
Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said the party also thanked its voters who believed in them and added that the party will work positively as the opposition.
Surjewala also said the CWC had authorised Gandhi to set in motion appropriate measures required for the party at the earliest.
The resolution of CWC regarding @RahulGandhi’s resignation @ThePrintIndia pic.twitter.com/UdoPQObcqF
— Neelam Pandey (@NPDay) May 25, 2019
Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said all leaders who were part of the CWC agreed that changes in the party should take place, hinting at a possible organisational reshuffle.
Acknowledging Gandhi’s role, he said the party president has always worked for the Congress and raised relevant issues. “He always fought and gave a good leadership which might not have been visible on TV but was very much there,” he said.
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Apart from the slightly improved seat count, the Congress failed to open its account in 18 states and all union territories. However, party leader A.K. Anthony said he didn’t see this as a disastrous performance. “But yes, we didn’t perform as per expectations,” he added.
Top Congress leaders from across the country were part of the Congress Working Committee meeting to review the party’s drubbing in the polls. The meeting was chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, and attended by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former prime minister Manmohan Singh, Uttar Pradesh (East) in-charge Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and chief ministers of three party-ruled states — Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh — and of the Union Territory Puducherry.
The meeting of the party’s highest decision-making body was expected to go into the reasons behind the Congress’ debacle and discuss what didn’t work for it.
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Senior leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram was also present in the meeting alongside other party colleagues including A.K. Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sheila Dikshit, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh and Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot also attended the meeting along with their Chhattisgarh counterpart Bhupesh Baghel.
On Friday, some Congress leaders already sent their resignations. Uttar Pradesh Congress chief Raj Babbar and Odisha Congress president Niranjan Patnaik have announced their resignations from the post.
(With PTI inputs)
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