Published 17:57 IST, August 24th 2020
Sonia Gandhi to continue as Congress interim-chief till fresh AICC elections are held
Putting another temporary end to the rising tumult in Congress on Monday, interim chief Sonia Gandhi is set to remain at her post till fresh elections are held
Putting another temporary end to the rising tumult in Congress on Monday, interim chief Sonia Gandhi is set to remain at her post till fresh elections are held by AICC in the next six months. She took over from Rahul Gandhi as party chief in August 2019, after her son resigned as chief post-Lok Sabha 2019 debacle. She had asked CWC members "to begin deliberations towards the process of transition to relieve her from the duty of party chief", as 23 senior leaders sought 'structural changes' at the party.
Sonia Gandhi to remain as interim chief
Rahul Vs Sonia battle in CWC
Currently, at the CWC meeting, sources report that the party has split into two camps - one supporting Sonia Gandhi as chief, the other backing Rahul Gandhi as chief. Sources report that Sonia aides like - Kamal Nath, Manmohan Singh, AK Antony, KC Venugopal have backed Sonia to continue chief, but other leaders like - Ahmed Patel, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel, DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah, Salman Khurshid and most state-level chiefs have called for Rahul Gandhi to take over as Congress chief - with Ahmed Patel officially proposing it in the meeting. Both the Gandhis have allegedly refused - Sonia Gandhi has insisted on stepping down while Rahul Gandhi has reportedly remained mum on the issue.
An all-out war between some of the signatories - Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal and the Wayanad MP occurred at the CWC meeting. 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. While both Sibal and Azad have maintained that Rahul Gandhi did not say such a thing in the meeting or otherwise, Azad has maintained that he is willing to resign if the allegation is proved by any of the Congress leaders. The former Congress chief allegedly feels that party members should have discussed the issues in the CWC and not to the media, allegedly betraying the party. The dissenters have allegedly expressed full faith in Sonia and Rahul Gandhi's leadership in the meeting, according to ANI.
23 leaders seek change in Congress
23 leaders wrote to party's interim-Chief Sonia Gandhi emphasising the need for the 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, seeks to elect a 'non-Gandhi' chief as pointed out by the dissenting leaders in the CWC meeting. The 23 signatories include Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Rajender Kaur Bhattal, M. Veerappa Moily, Prithviraj Chavan, P.J. Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary, and Milind Deora - belonging from the Congress' 'old guard ' and the 'young guard' (i.e Rahul Gandhi supporters). Apart from these signatories, over 300 Congress workers support it.
Updated 19:36 IST, August 24th 2020