Political / Rahul silent over his future as Congress chief as party remains in disarray

The New Indian Express : Jun 05, 2019, 12:08 PM
More than 10 days have passed since the Lok Sabha poll results came, but the Congress, which suffered one of its worst electoral drubbings, continues to be in a state of disarray.

With the suspense over Rahul Gandhi’s resignation as party chief continuing, party functionaries and state units are in limbo.

Since the election results were announced on May 23, the party headquarters at Akbar Road has donned a deserted look, with some senior leaders and in-charges not coming to their office or operating from outside.

Even those who attend regularly are clueless about the future course of action.

“Everyone is in hibernation here and this may well continue for the next few days. As of now, no one knows the status of the party president although the Congress Working Committee had rejected Rahul’s offer to resign,” said a party secretary.

Rahul’s insistence on stepping down and asking the party to choose a non-Gandhi as its head has left many in doubt if the Grand Old Party would be able to work as an entity under a non-Gandhi. Many state units have passed resolutions urging Rahul to continue as party chief but there he has been mum.

“We have been waiting for any orders from the party high command. All state units are also waiting for directions as it’s expected that many state chiefs and in-charges would be changed. As of now, it’s like wait and watch for the next order,” said a party leader.

Many in the party feel things need to start moving fast keeping in mind Assembly elections in Haryana, Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir, due later this year.

“There is no one stopping state units from planning for elections. Things are expected to start moving as Parliament will resume from June 17. The party is already collecting booth-wise reports to assess the reasons behind the loss in many states,” said another leader.

No forward movement on overhaul

The CWC has given the authority to Rahul to bring organisational changes and do a complete overhaul, including amendments in the party constitution.

But, nothing seems to have moved forward in this direction so far.

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