Rahul Gandhi will not be Congress president

New Delhi: It is virtually certain that Rahul Gandhi will not be returning as Congress president in the near future and attempts are being made to ensure that interim president, Sonia Gandhi continues as the overall in-charge unless a suitable replacement can be found.

A meeting of the Congress Working Committee, which was to be held on Saturday, but was deferred fearing a clash between the seniors and juniors, is now likely to be held on Monday or Tuesday. A functionary of the party contacted several senior leaders on Saturday to ascertain their availability for these two days and asked them to download an app other than Zoom for the possible meeting.

The confusion over the leadership role remains unresolved as there have been voices from amongst elected members to look for a non-Gandhi alternative. Although Priyanka Gandhi Vadra had endorsed the demand to have a non-Gandhi as the party president last year soon after Rahul resigned, yet her position on her earlier stand remains unclear given the present political scenario.

The differences between the seniors and juniors have resurfaced after MPs said to be close to Rahul Gandhi openly accused members of the Manmohan Singh government to be responsible for the decline of the party. This view is not shared by any of the seniors and the inability of the party to expand its base and absence of appeal amongst the new voters is being cited as the reason for the defeat. The other factor is the perceived tilt of the party towards the minorities.

Informed sources said that a search had begun for a candidate who could be acceptable to all factions. In this context, Rajasthan Chief Minister, Ashok Gehlot’s name is doing the rounds. The rationale behind this is that Gehlot as general secretary in charge of organisation was close to Rahul Gandhi and also enjoys proximity to Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi’s principal adviser. The plan could be to get him out of Rajasthan to placate Sachin Pilot and have a neutral CM there instead. Assembly Speaker, C.P. Joshi’s name is being mentioned as a person who could probably get the high command’s nod.

The twist in the tale is that Gehlot, left to himself, would not be interested in coming to Delhi and thus the uncertainty would persist. Other names that could be acceptable for the position of the party chief are those of Captain Amarinder Singh, Kamal Nath and Bhupinder Singh Hooda. Amarinder has already made it known that he is not keen for the job and wants Sonia Gandhi to continue.

Kamal Nath is busy with the Madhya Pradesh byelections, but given his vast electoral experience and a connect with the Congress cadres over a period of time, he is considered to be the most suitable man.

Hooda is a mass leader, who comes from a traditional Congress family. He has proved himself to be a perceptive and mature leader and is regarded very highly by his supporters and his colleagues.

The demand that is being made across the board is to have a session of the AICC to both elect a new president and members of the Congress Working Committee. The party has communicated to the Election Commission that for the time being Sonia Gandhi shall continue as the party chief.

Sources said that Rahul Gandhi was reluctant to assume the leadership role in a formal capacity, but wants his men to be appointed in key positions so that he can continue to take decisions without having any accountability. The recent example of Ajay Maken replacing Avinash Pande in Rajasthan as the general secretary in-charge is being cited in party circles.

The course which Congress politics takes would be determined after the probable CWC meeting early next week. Till then confusion persists.