Perturbed over factionalism in the Madhya Pradesh Congress, party vice president Rahul Gandhi here on Thursday told the party workers that senior leaders will be the worst sufferers if the party loses the Assembly elections this year.
Rahul, addressing the party office-bearers and elected representatives, said "in the last two days I have understood where the problem is. Factionalism should come to an end and distribution of tickets should be made from the lower level.
Now onwards, senior leaders cannot not run away from accountability, they will have to come together on a stage, else they would have to face the consequences."
Rahul's commandments for the satraps came as a bomb and their faces paled. The commandments came after Rahul's one-to-one dialogue with party workers in Mohankehda and Bhopal. Senior party leaders, including Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, former PCC chief Suresh Pachouri, PCC chief Kantilal Bhuria and leader of Opposition Ajay Singh were present when Rahul issued these commandments.
Asserting that the practice of leaving decisions to the high command needs to be done away with, Rahul said it would be good for the party if they were taken at the State level.
Interacting with a select group of Congress leaders and workers in the city, he said party members must understand that they have to fight for their rights. "The Congress as I see it, does not belong to me or to you, but it belongs to the whole country," he said.
He said there was a time when all sections of society, including minorities and weaker classes were with the Congress, but many of them have drifted away from the party.
Gandhi added that the party also needs to learn from its mistakes during the last two Assembly elections in 2003 and 2008.
He said that this year's Madhya Pradesh Assembly elections should be fought under a totally united Congress which is capable of winning them.