Congress core group reaffirms faith in Sonia Gandhi’s leadership

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the Congress party’s most powerful body, on Sunday reaffirmed its faith in the leadership of interim president Sonia Gandhi and urged her to make necessary organisational changes.

The CWC discussed the reasons for the party’s unsatisfactory performance in the recently-concluded assembly elections in five states and accepted there were “shortcomings” in the party’s strategy.

CWC discussed what went wrong in assembly elections and senior leaders including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Digvijaya Singh gave some suggestions.

“The recent Assembly election results of five states are a cause of serious concern for the Indian National Congress. The party accepts that due to shortcomings in our strategy, we could not effectively expose the misrule of BJP state governments in four states and overcome the anti-incumbency in the state of Punjab in the short time after effecting a change of leadership,” the party said in a statement after the meeting.

It added that the Congress represents the hopes of millions of Indians “against political authoritarianism prevailing in the country today” and the party is fully conscious of its immense responsibility.

“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 and comprehensive organisational changes in order to take on the political challenges,” the statement added.

“While humbly accepting the electoral verdict of the latest round of Assembly elections, the Congress party assures its workers and the people of India that it will continue to remain a vigilant and vibrant opposition. The Congress Party will be fully prepared to face the electoral challenges in the election going states in 2022 and 2023 as well as in the Lok Sabha elections 2024,” it said.

Speaking with reporters after the meeting, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala said that “every single member of CWC wants Sonia Gandhi to guide party till organisational elections are held”.

He acknowledged that "every party worker wants Rahul Gandhi to lead the party". However, the new party president will be chosen at the next Congress election, he stated.

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal said that Congress president would immediately take up corrective measures to revamp and re-strengthen the organisation.

Venugopal said the party will organise a "chintan shivir" after the Parliament session and the CWC will meet again before it to take up some "organisational changes".

Ahead of a CWC meeting today, Congress workers were seen raising slogans in support of Rahul Gandhi outside AICC headquarters at Akbar Road.

Besides party workers, senior Congress leaders also pitched for Rahul Gandhi's return as Congress chief.

Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar said in a tweet, "As I have said it earlier as well, Rahul Gandhi should take up the Congress presidency in a full time role immediately. This is the wish of millions of Congress workers like me."

Youth Congress president Srinivas BV said the Gandhi family is the thread that binds together not only the Congress but all sections of the country and it is not dependent on any electoral victory or defeat.

After Congress's defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president. Sonia Gandhi then took over the reins of the party again as the interim president and continues to hold the position as the Congress president's election keep getting delayed.