Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday rejected the resignation offered by Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi following the party’s dismal performance in the State in lok Sabha polls. Party sources, however, said the final decision on Gogoi will be taken after Sonia consults the Assam MlAs next week for a possible reshuffle and after the matter is deliberated in the Parliamentary Party meet on Saturday. Congress Parliamentary Party will meet the same day to elect its new leader of the 16th lok Sabha.
“Soniaji outrightly rejected the Chief Minister’s offer of resignation,” State Agriculture Minister Nilomani Sen Deka said. Three-time CM of Assam since 2001, Gogoi offered to resign it the backdrop of resentment against his leadership and 45 of the 78 Congress MlAs sending a dissent letter to Sonia.
Gogoi, who met Sonia and Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, did not speak to media and was closeted with more than a dozen of his supporters, mostly State Ministers, MlAs and two former Union Ministers, at his residence in the national Capital. During the day, Gogoi met Congress treasurer Motilal Vohra and Congress general secretary in-charge of Assam CP Joshi. Congress got its lowest ever tally in Assam — three out of 14 lok Sabha seats — in the recent lok Sabha elections The Congress in Assam has been plagued by factionalism and dissidence with State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma leading the anti-Gogoi campaign. Former Union Minister BK Handique, who lost in the lok Sabha polls in Jorhat, said Gogoi would continue as Chief Minister and lead the party in the State.
Senior MlA Anjan Dutta said the Congress President has indicated for a revamp of the party in the state and as the first step a reshuffle of ministry after June 1 when Gogoi will complete three years in office in his third term. Dutta said that during Gogoi’s meeting with Rahul, the Congress vice-president too put complete faith in Gogoi’s leadership in Assam.
On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh after his meeting with Sonia insisted that there was no need for him to resign as the lok Sabha polls were not state elections. “I have not resigned. Nobody has asked me resign,” Singh said.“This was not the election of Himachal Pradesh but of the entire country. People voted to make Narendra Modi Prime Minister and not on development issues of Himachal Pradesh,” Singh said.
Congress lost all the four lok Sabha seats in the State, including Mandi from where Singh’s wife and sitting MP Pratibha was the party candidate.
Meanwhile, the resentment in Punjab Congress grew with two MlAs demanding resignation of PCC chief Partap Singh Bajwa. Show-cause notice has been issued on the MlAs for leading a group of legislators and leaders and openly seeking resignation of Bajwa following the party’s dismal performance in the lok Sabha elections. MlAs Rana Gurmeet Sodhi and Kewal Dhillon have been issued notices for going to the media and demanding action against Bajwa, rather than raising the matter at a party forum.
As many as 24 Congress MlAs, besides other party leaders, had released a statement to the media, asking Bajwa to own up responsibility for the party’s poll debacle in Punjab and resign.