New Delhi, August 1: Congress General Secretary on Thursday made it clear to Congress leaders that she wasn't keen on becoming the party president after her brother Rahul Gandhi's exit. During a meeting of Congress general secretaries and in-charge of states, Priyanka Gandhi told her party colleagues that she did not want to be dragged into this.

The meeting of Congress general secretaries and in-charge of states was held to discuss preparations for the birth anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi on August 20. During the discussion, Congress in-charge for Jharkhand RPN Singh told Priyanka that she should come forward and take reins of the party in her hands, Hindustan Times reported. ‘Who Is Congress President,’ Asks Omar Abdullah After Eknath Gaikwad’s Appointment As Mumbai Congress Working Chief.

"Don’t drag me into this," a Congress leader quoted Priyanka as saying. The Congress leader's response amid growing voices within the party in support of her to take over. Recently, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor supported Priyanka. Rahul Gandhi, however, has remained firm on not having a member of the party's first family as the working president.

While the old guard has been trying its best to convince Sonia Gandhi to prop up Priyanka, a section of young leaders backing Rahul's position that the next president shouldn’t be from the Gandhi family. Rahul offered his resignation from the top post to the Congress Working Committee, the party’s highest decision-making body after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Several leaders persuaded Rahul to continue, he remained firm on quitting the top post. Last month, he put out a four-page farewell note making it clear that he wouldn't take back his resignation.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 01, 2019 04:44 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).