A group of 18 Congress leaders – a group of G-23 dissidents and some ‘newcomers’ – spoke in favor of “collective, inclusive leadership” after a meeting at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s home this evening. His statement does not reflect any call for a non-Gandhi to power, or an organizational election, which a section of the party is supporting. However, it demanded that the Congress be proactive in building a platform with other like-minded parties to take on the BJP in 2024 – aiming to end the party’s slow separation between the opposition.
Among the attendees, who covered six states among them, were Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma, Prithviraj Chavan – part of a group of 23 dissidents. Shashi Tharoor, who was also a signatory to Sonia Gandhi’s explosive letter two years ago but has since kept a distance, attended the meeting, posting a cryptic tweet about making “a few more mistakes”.
It also featured ‘newcomers’ Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar, Shankarsinh Vaghela and Mani Shankar Aiyar.
“We believe that the only way forward for Congress is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision-making at all levels,” the statement said.
“It is necessary to strengthen the Congress party to oppose the BJP. We demand that the Congress party along with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative to 2024,” the statement said. Start the conversation.”
The meeting place, initially Kapil Sibal’s house, was changed at the last minute as some leaders felt uncomfortable considering his recent statement against the Gandhi family. In an interview with The Indian Express, Mr. Sibal had said, “I want ‘Sab ki Congress’. Some others want ‘Ghar ki Congress’.”
Mr Sibal was also upset by the conclusion of the working committee meeting, which declined to hear of any resignations from Sonia Gandhi and her children and reaffirmed her leadership. “There is a Congress outside the CWC. Many leaders like us who are not in the CWC but are in the Congress have a completely different perspective,” he said.
His strong statements and the presence of newcomers at the meeting had created a buzz about a serious rift within the party. But the change in venue indicated that any speculation about the split could be premature.
Two leaders who were present – Mr Azad and Anand Sharma – also attended the Congress Working Committee meeting earlier this week where they expressed their views. Mr Azad spoke of the situation in Punjab, where the Congress suffered its worst defeat, to which Sonia Gandhi intervened, saying it was a mistake to save Amarinder Singh.
On Friday, some disgruntled leaders also met at the house of Ghulam Nabi Azad, where they expressed their disappointment over the Congress leadership not taking any corrective steps to revive the party and discussed the way forward.
The broad organizational changes demanded by the G-23 two years ago have not yet materialised.
In the meeting of the Working Committee for the post-mortem of the elections, it was said to form a new committee to prepare for the elections after the Parliament session, but no promise was made about any drastic changes.
Two days later, Sonia Gandhi sacked the party chiefs of the five states where elections were held.