Congress on Tuesday cracked the whip on its chief of State units where the party had a dismal performance in the just-concluded Assembly elections under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi.
“Congress president Sonia Gandhi has asked the PCC presidents of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur to put in their resignations in order to facilitate reorganisation of PCCs,” Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said on a day when dissensions within the party came in public after senior leader and former Union Minister Kapil Sibal asked the Gandhis to quit and pave way for others to run party affairs.
The move also came two days after a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) to discuss the party’s performance and in which Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka had offered to relinquish their posts but were asked by certain members to continue. The CWC then authorised Sonia to make comprehensive changes in the party structure at the State and national levels.
AICC sources said that process for the overhaul of the organisational structure has begun and during the next meetings of the CWC and the proposed chintan shivr in Jaipur there could be announcements to advance the organisation elections presently scheduled for September 2022.
Sonia has been the interim chief since 2019 after Rahul quit the post in the wake of poor Lok Sabha performance and Congress rout in several Assembly elections.
Among those who have been asked to tender their resignation to Sonia is Navjot Singh Sidhu. Appointed the Punjab Congress chief in July by Rahul and Priyanka, Sidhu was singularly responsible for the ouster of the then Punjab CM Captain Amarinder Singh. Sidhu also locked horns with Charanjit Singh Channi, Captain’s successor and Congress Chief Ministerial face in Punjab elections. As a result of this infighting, the Congress was reduced to 18 seats in the Punjab Assembly polls.
The Congress was unable to unseat the BJP in Uttarakhand and won only 19 out of 70 seats where it had a very formidable chance along with Goa. The elections were fought under the leadership of Uttarakhand PCC chief Ganesh Godiyal and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
In Goa, party came down to 11 seats under the leadership of State Congress chief Girish Chodankar as compared to 17 in the last Assembly.
In Manipur, where it was able to secure only five seats under the leadership of Manipur PCC chief Nameirakpam Loken Singh and former Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh, Congress could not even secure the office of Leader of Opposition as JD (U) bagged six seats.
Earlier during the day senior Congress leaders lashed out at their party colleague Sibal for his remarks against the leadership with the party’s Lok Sabha whip accusing him of speaking the language of the BJP and the RSS. Sibal in an interview to an English newspaper said Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to lead the party.
While Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot termed the Sibal’s comment “unfortunate”, Manickam Tagore, a staunch Rahul loyalist, said the RSS and the BJP want the Gandhis to be out of leadership position to kill the Congress party and destroy the idea of India,
Congress national spokesperson Pawan Khera said Sibal should contest elections for the post of Congress president instead of making public comments against the leadership. Congress put out a video of all its former leaders from Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi, on its Twitter handle. “We will fight on. We will overcome. We will continue to raise your voice,” the party said.