Kamal Nath refuses to back Rahul Gandhi as party chief; says Sonia must continue: Sources

In a major deviation from Gandhi loyalists, ex-Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath, on Monday, has reportedly refuse to back Rahul Gandhi as next Congress chief, insisting Sonia Gandhi to hold on to it. Several other Gandhi loyalists aides like Ahmed Patel, DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, KC Venugopal, Salman Khurshid have called for Rahul Gandhi to take over as Congress chief - with Ahmed Patel officially proposing it in the ongoing Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting at AICC headquarters. Several other Sonia aides like- Manmohan Singh, AK Antony, KC Venugopal have insisted that Sonia Gandhi stays as Congress chief, but are open to Rahul Gandhi's leadership. 

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Rahul Vs dissenters in CWC

While most Congress 52 senior members attending the meeting insisted that Sonia Gandhi continue as interim-chief till Rahul Gandhi agrees to take over, both the Gandhis have allegedly refused - Sonia Gandhi has insisted on stepping down while Rahul Gandhi has reportedly remained mum on the issue. Apart from leadership woes, all-out war between some of the signatories - Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal and the Wayanad MP. Rahul Gandhi allegedly said that the dissenters were 'in cahoots with the BJP', which prompted Sibal to lash out and Azad to reportedly offer to resign. Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has clarified that no such statement was made by Gandhi.

The former Congress chief allegedly feels that party members should have discussed the issues in the CWC and not to the media, stating that the party was betrayed by the senior Congress leaders who wrote the dissenting letter which has 23 signatories and over 300 Congress supporters.

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23 leaders seek 'structural changes', Sonia offers to resign

Hinting at apparent turmoil within the Grand old party, 23 senior leaders wrote to party's interim-Chief Sonia Gandhi emphasising the need for active revival of the party and raised questions about the party's condition and direction, demanding an internal election to the CWC even at state levels, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism, full-time leadership at the helm. The five-page letter - drafted by two senior leaders bears the signatures of leaders from the Congress' 'old guard ' and the 'young guard' (i.e Rahul Gandhi supporters). Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tiwari,  Anand Sharma, Shashi Tharoor, Jitin Prasad, Veerappa Moily, Pramod Tiwari, PJ Kurien, Sandeep Dikshit, as per sources. 

Amid row, Rahul Gandhi feels 'dissenters betrayed Congress' by taking grouse to media

On the other hand, backing the Gandhis, Punjab CM Capt. Amarinder Singh said this was not the time to raise such an issue, ahead of a crucial CWC meeting on Monday. Apart from Singh, several other Congress leaders like Salman Khurshid, Sanjay Nirupam, Siddaramaiah, Bhupesh Baghel, Ashok Gehlot, Balasaheb Thorat have also opposed this idea, while urging Rahul Gandhi to step into his mother's shoes as party chief. While Sonia Gandhi took over from Rahul Gandhi as party chief in August 2019, she has asked CWC members "to begin deliberations towards the process of transition to relieve her from the duty of party chief".

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