New Delhi, Aug 9 (IANS) The suspense over the new Congress chief will end on Saturday as the Congress Working Committee (CWC) will sit to decide on the successor of Rahul Gandhi who has resigned from the top post taking moral responsibility for the party’s loss in the Lok Sabha election.
The Congress, which could manage to win only 52 out of 542 seats, has faced a major leadership crisis after the Lok Sabha election as Rahul Gandhi offered to resign at the CWC meeting on May 25, just two days after the poll results were declared.
However, his resignation was not accepted by the CWC, the party’s top decision making body.
Meanwhile, Gandhi in early July shared his four-page resignation letter on Twitter.
According to party sources, the senior leadership of the party including Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, P. Chidambaram – considered close to the Gandhi family – are backing the names of Mallikarjun Kharge and Mukul Wasnik for the top post.
According to senior party leaders, the names of senior leaders like Sushil Kumar Shinde, former Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Milind Deora and Jyotiraditya Scindia are also being considered for the top post.
Sources also indicated that the name of the new Working President may be a surprise pick if the consensus on the names is not formed.
The sources further said the party may also appoint a group of leaders to elect the new Working President.
Following the resignation of Gandhi from the top post, several senior leaders like Karan Singh and Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh have demanded selection of a new Working President instantly.
Following the leadership crisis, the Congress faced a major revolt in the party when its 12 legislators switched sides to the ruling TRS in Telangana.
The Congress also faced a setback in Karnataka, where the 14-month-old Congress-Janata Dal (Secular) coalition government fell after it failed to prove a majority in the Legislative Assembly.
In Goa, 10 Congress MLAs also switched to the ruling BJP.
–IANS
aks/kr