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Sonia Gandhi Stays Chief, Congress Decides In 4-Hour Post-Mortem

March 13, 2022
Bharat Times

New Delhi:
Sonia Gandhi will remain the Congress president, the party said after a mammoth four-and-half-hour meeting this evening amid demands for a change in leadership in view of the crushing defeat in the recently held state polls.

Here are the top 10 facts in this big story:

  1. In her opening remarks at the meeting of the Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body, Sonia Gandhi said the Gandhis are ready to resign from Congress posts if the party wants, but top decision making-body refused, sources said after the meeting.

  2. “The CWC unanimously reaffirms its faith in the leadership of Smt. 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,” the Congress said in a statement.

  3. The party also said it will hold a “Chintan Shivir” (brainstorming session) to focus on the organisational elections after the current session of parliament ends.

  4. More than 50 leaders participated at the meeting — a number surpassing the combined strength of Congress’s MLAs and MPs from the five states where the elections were held — Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur and Punjab.

  5. The scale of Congress defeat had set off a refreshed demands for sweeping organisational changes and an accountable leadership — first introduced two years ago when a group of 23 dissenters later dubbed the G-23, wrote an explosive letter to Sonia Gandhi.

  6. This time, searing criticism of the top leadership came from other quarters as well, albeit off the record. There has been criticism that Rahul Gandhi, who dies not hold any official position after stepping down as Congress president after the party’s second straight national election defeat in 2019, continues to call the shots.

  7. Decisions by him and his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been seen as being responsible for the party’s defeat in Punjab and Uttar Pradesh.

  8. There are only three members from the “G-23” in the CWC – Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik. Sources said Mr Sharma and Ghulam Nabi Azad made their points openly.

  9. Ahead of the meeting, the Congress denied a buzz that the Gandhis will step down from official posts. Several leaders tweeted their support to Rahul Gandhi.

  10. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said Rahul Gandhi should be the Congress chief. “For the last three decades, nobody from the Gandhi family became a PM or a minister. It is significant to understand that the Gandhi family is important for Congress’ unity,” he told news agency ANI.