New Delhi, December 19: At the key meeting convened by Congress president Sonia Gandhi, in which the "dissenting leaders" were also invited, a unanimous call was raised for Rahul Gandhi to takeover, claimed party sources while speaking to reporters. The Gandhi scion, unlike the past few meetings, did not outrightly refuse to return as the party president.
The sources, while speaking to news agency ANI, said Rahul Gandhi wanted the process of electing a new president be completed through the due electoral process - as enshrined in the party constitution. BJP-RSS Control Facebook in India, Says Rahul Gandhi.
"All leaders want Rahul Gandhi to take the responsibility of party president at which point he said it should be left to the electoral process of the party," the sources were reported as saying.
Update by ANI
All leaders want Rahul Gandhi to take the responsibility of party president at which point he said it should be left to the electoral process of the party: Sources on today's Congress meeting
— ANI (@ANI) December 19, 2020
Rahul Gandhi had resigned as the Congress president in 2019, following the rout in Lok Sabha elections. His two-year stint saw the party improving its position in Gujarat, winning Punjab, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, but facing another round of annihilation in the general elections.
While demitting the post, Gandhi had stressed that the time has come for a member outside his family to takeover as the party chief. However, months after the party was left leaderless, his mother Sonia was convinced by the senior leaders to takeover the role on an interim basis.
The intra-party crisis within the Congress came to the fore after 23 senior leaders, including Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal wrote an unprecedented letter seeking internal reforms and intra-party elections. The party president was asked to conduct an introspection and implement an overhaul, considering the spree of losses suffered in the past six years.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 19, 2020 06:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).