Sonia Gandhi to remain Congress president for now, says party after CWC meet over assembly polls rout

Ahead of the meeting, speculations were rife that the Congress may rejig its leadership, or advance the organisational polls slated for later this year. Congress' national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala brushed aside the speculations, noting that no resignations were sought.

"The CWC unanimously expressed faith in the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and urged her to lead the party till the conduct of the organisational polls," Surjewala said.

The organisational polls are expected to be held in August this year, with the party being scheduled to elect its next president in September.

The Congress has "taken a collective responsibility" for the loss in the elections, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said, adding that any one leader, state in-charge or poll observer cannot be held solely responsible.

Ahead of the CWC meeting, an NDTV report had claimed that Sonia Gandhi could resign as the Congress chief and her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi, may relinquish the post of party's general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh. The Congress' tally shrunk from 7 in the last UP elections to 2 in the recent assembly polls.

"She (Sonia Gandhi) continues to be the president of the party. Detailed discussion held about the 5 states elections. We discussed how to take things forward and how we prepare for the forthcoming elections," Congress leader Dinesh Gundu Rao, who is the party in-charge for Goa, told news agency ANI.

Senior Congress leader KC Venugopal Rao, while briefing the press, said the Congress will hold a 'Chintan Shivir' after the Parliament session concludes to contemplate over the deficiencies in its poll strategy and plan measures to rectify its approach.

Notably, three members of the 'G-23' - the group of 23 Congress veterans who had written to Sonia Gandhi back in August 2020 seeking sweeping organisational changes - attended the CWC meeting. They were Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik.

A number of G-23 leaders, according to The Indian Express, had met on March 11 at Azad's residence to discuss the party's debacle in the polls. It was expected that the group may sharpen their questions directed at the Congress top brass.

Meanwhile, a major section of the party has called for the return of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president. This list includes Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, who went public with his view earlier today. "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 ANI.

The junior Gandhi had stepped down as the Congress chief in 2019, barely two years after assuming the charge as he took the entire responsibility of the party's lacklustre performance in the general elections.

The Congress, since 2014, has faced a spree of electoral losses which has shrunk its political strength. The party does not have a Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha as it won less than 10 percent of the total seats in two consecutive elections.

The party is currently in power in only two states - Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh. Both the states will go to polls in November-December next year.

Considering the party's decline, other members of the anti-BJP bloc are attempting to take over the space held by the Congress. Among them is the Mamata Banerjee-Trinamool Congress, which has persistently attacked the grand old party over its loosening clout.

"They are now they are losing everywhere. It doesn't seem they are interested anymore (in winning). They have lost credibility, and there is no point in depending on them," Banerjee said on March 11.

The Delhi-ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which emerged as the winner in Punjab with a landslide mandate, is also looking at the possibility of replacing the Congress nationally. "AAP is a natural and national replacement for the Congress," senior party leader Raghav Chaddha said.