Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi conducted a meeting of senior party leaders, including dissenters, on Saturday to apparently facilitate her son Rahul Gandhi’s re-anoinment as the party president.
Rahul relinquished the post after the dismal performance of the Congress in 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Speaking to the media after the meeting, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan stated that 30 leaders had deliberated on the path ahead for the party in a “constructive” atmosphere.
Flanked by former Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat and Congress treasurer Pawan Bansal, Chavan added that more such meetings will be held to strengthen the party. He also said that a Chintan Shivir shall take place in Pachmarhi or Shimla.
Clear indications regarding Rahul’s comeback in a month’s time emerged after party leaders shared to media that the Gandhi scion conveyed in the meeting that he is “ready to work for the party as all desire”. The comment was greeted by prolonged applause in the presence of the Congress “dissenters” who had written a letter criticising the leadership and calling for an overhaul earlier this year.
The members of the meeting also decided to convene a Chintan Shivir (brainstorming session) at Pachmarhi or Shimla soon.
This was Sonia Gandhi’s first meeting with dissenting leaders who had raised concerns about the functioning of the party. The five-hour meeting between Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and the so-called “rebels” on the lawns of the Congress interim president’s 10 Janpath residence marked the first move towards reconciliation after months of feuding, revolt and resignations.
“I am willing to work for the party as all of you desire,” senior Congress leader Pawan Bansal said quoting Rahul after the meeting. The former Congress president reportedly also agreed that “better communication” was needed and the party needed to strengthen itself at the booth-level.
When asked whether Rahul Gandhi’s comment and the cheers that greeted it meant his return as chief, Bansal said: “No one has an issue with Rahul Gandhi… don’t put words in my mouth. The process of electing a Congress president is in the process.”
The dissidents reportedly remained firm on their position of demanding an election for the post of Congress president, the Congress Working Committee and the parliamentary board. A letter in August by 23 Congress leaders noted the leadership drift and called for an “active and visible leadership” and collective decision-making.
“A positive discussion was started by Sonia Gandhi. She talked about defining the narrative, deciding the top leadership,” Bansal said. “Sonia Gandhi said we all are one big family and should work to strengthen the party. There is no dissidence in Congress, all are committed to work unitedly to energise the party.”
The dissenters, including Ghulam Nabi Azad, Shashi Tharoor and Anand Sharma, spoke directly to the Gandhis for the first time since the letter bomb. AK Antony, Ashok Gehlot and Ambika Soni were among the loyalists at the meeting while Kamal Nath reportedly played a big part in getting Sonia Gandhi to agree to the meeting. This was first of a series of meetings – to be held over the next 10 days – between the Gandhis and senior party leaders ahead of organisational elections. Some of the leaders outside the rebel group, like P Chidambaram, reportedly asked for a shift from the “general secretary approach” of running States.
The state Congress chief should be empowered and booth level committees must be strengthened to help the Congress retain its voters, they suggested in what was described as a “free and frank discussion”.
Rahul Gandhi’s sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the Congress general secretary in charge of Uttar Pradesh, talked about rebuilding the organisation and “taking care of grassroots workers”. She reportedly called for “better inner party communication”. Congress leaders said “no one was critical of Rahul Gandhi” at the meeting and the rebels “supported him”.
Rahul Gandhi quit as Congress president after the party’s national election defeat last year, forcing Sonia Gandhi to take over as interim chief until the party elected a new chief. Since then, he has given no indication of any change of heart.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi did not mince his words as he addressed veterans like Kamal Nath, who lost power in Madhya Pradesh after senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia rebelled and switched to the BJP. He reportedly told Kamal Nath that even though he was Chief Minister, “RSS officers” ran Madhya Pradesh. To former Union Minister a party veteran P Chidambaram, Rahul Gandhi reportedly remarked that in his State Tamil Nadu, the Congress, at the booth level was only an adjunct to ally DMK. The fallout of the farmers’ agitation and the strategy to be adopted by the party in this regard also came under discussion.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi also addressed the meeting. Former president Rahul Gandhi also addressed the meet. Priyanka also expressed her views. Senior leaders talked about the state of the party and gave good suggestions to strengthen it. The Congress president will take forward the suggestions,” he added.
Sunday, 20 December 2020 | PNS | New Delhi
