G-23 leaders to meet on Wednesday as voices of dissent grow louder in Congress

(Representational image; Credit: Reuters)

Congress's G-23 leaders will meet at Kapil Sibal's residence on March 16 to discuss the situation obtaining in the party in the aftermath of its embarrassing loss in the assembly elections in five states and the CWC's endorsement of Sonia Gandhi's continuance as president.

Sources close to the Group of 23 leaders said they have also invited Congressmen who don't constitute the bloc but feel changes are required, including at the leadership level, to revive its electoral fortunes.

The group, which has been critical of the leadership, had written to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 demanding an organisational overhaul. The decision to convene a meeting of the G-23 came on a day when Sonia Gandhi sought the resignation of Congress presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur, and Goa following the party's dismal performance in the assembly elections.

Sibal, in his latest salvo targeting the leadership had said the Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to helm the party, provoking a backlash from Gandhi family loyalists who accused him of speaking the language of the BJP and RSS. "Leadership is in cuckoo land I want a 'Sab ki Congress'. Some want a 'Ghar ki Congress'," Sibal told the Indian Express in an interview.

The G-23 has, however, got weakened over time with senior leader M Veerappa Moily distancing himself from the group, Jitin Prasada joining the BJP, and Mukul Wasnik not attending its meetings in recent times.