Two more state units are attempting to re-elect Rahul Gandhi as Congress President.

GUJARAT AND CHHATTISGARH UNITS VOTE TO RE-ELECT Rahul Gandhi AS PARTY PRESIDENT.

Unanimous Resolutions Passed Calling for Rahul Gandhi’s Return

On Sunday, the Pradesh Congress Committees (PCCs) of Gujarat and Chhattisgarh joined hands with Rajasthan in unanimously passing resolutions calling for former Congress President Rahul Gandhi’s return as the leader of the party.

In Gujarat, State Party Chief Jagdish Thakor proposed the resolution at the PCC’s executive meeting, and all members supported it. 

A resolution with one voice has been moved that Rahul ji must take over as party chief and lead the party to the next parliamentary polls,” a party leader from the election-bound State said, ‘Rahul must rethink’ 

Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel

Earlier, in Chhattisgarh, the only other state where the party is in power besides Rajasthan, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel moved the resolution in Raipur on Sunday, which was supported by all delegates. 

“These resolutions have been passed by the PCCs of Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.” It has already been done in two states, but if this proposal is backed by other states, Rahul Ji should reconsider. There is very little time left for the election of the President of the Congress.

“I believe Mr. Gandhi will give his approval while keeping the feelings of the party members in mind,” Mr Baghel said. 

The meeting at Chhattisgarh

The Chhattisgarh meeting had 310 delegates, while the Gujarat Congress did not disclose the number. 

Both PCCs also passed resolutions authorising Congress President Sonia Gandhi to reshuffle State units as part of the party’s national restructuring. On Saturday, a similar resolution was passed in Madhya Pradesh. The MPPCC, however, did not pass a resolution calling for Mr Gandhi’s return to the presidency.

Following Rajasthan’s decision, the party’s Central Election Authority chairman, Madhusudan Mistry, told The Hindu that the PCC resolution would not impact the presidential election.

Public Pledge

With less than a week until the election, a group of young Congress leaders has launched a petition, urging presidential candidates to “take a public pledge to involve party members from block committees up to the CWC and implement the Udaipur Declaration in its entirety within the first 100 days of assuming office.”

K. Raju, Praveen Chakravarty, Meenakshi Natarajan, Prakash Joshi, Sachin Rao, Jothimani, and Harshwardhan Sapkal are among the first to sign on to the campaign.

In response to a question about how such resolutions should be interpreted in light of Rahul Gandhi’s repeated statements about his unwillingness to return to the post, State Election Officer Husain Dalwai stated that it was the will of the party workers.

“It will be better for us if he takes on the responsibility,” he said, explaining why such a resolution was passed. For some, such as AICC’s Chhattisgarh in-charge P.L. Punia, the resolutions were an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to the Gandhi family. Mr Punia claimed that the party could not “pick anyone off the street and make them president.” 

Will Rahul Gandhi pay heed to the plea?

Ashok Gehlot, chief minister of Rajasthan, responded to the speculations about the next Congress president, saying that, In 2019, they suffered an electoral defeat. Mr. Gandhi accepted personal responsibility by resigning. He had previously stated in CWC that he would do whatever the party asked of him but that he had no interest in being chief.

After an open revolt by a subset of politicians, known as G-23, Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, proposed to resign in August 2020 but was pushed to stay in office by the CWC. They were compelled to inform her that “if you don’t accept, and the Congress disintegrates, history will not forgive you,” and that she had no choice but to listen.

Previously, Gehlot had tried to downplay speculation that Gandhi was the “frontrunner” for the Congress president’s post by stressing that every attempt will be made up until the very end to convince Rahul Gandhi to reclaim the party’s leadership position.

However, according to several sources within the party, Gandhi remains firm on his refusal to lead the All India Congress Committee (AICC).Though, he has been publicly urged to assume the leadership of the party by a number of Congress figures. The situation is still shrouded in mystery and tension.

---

Read more from Asiana Times Politics News