With Congress losing all five state Assembly elections by humiliating margins, several Congress loyalists defended the party leadership.
While Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole said that the grand old party’s central leadership is still strong and will benefit the party in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls DK Shivakumar said that the Congress party cannot remain united without the Gandhi family.
“Without the Gandhi family, the Congress party cannot stay united. They are the key for the unity of the Congress party and it is impossible for the Congress to survive without the Gandhi family,” the Karnataka Congress chief told NDTV.
Congress failed to convince voters of this country: DK Shivakumar
Shivakumar further said that Congress failed to convince the voters of this country and lauded Priyanka Gandhi Vadra for working hard.
Few leaders called the present setup “non-performing” and said it has to be changed as the party is not “someone’s fiefdom” and everyone has a stake in the party.
They also suggest that leaders like Sachin Pilot or Manish Tewari should lead the party.
The Congress lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and was unable to come to power in Goa, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Manipur.
Several party stalwarts lost to AAP candidates in Punjab. In Uttar Pradesh, the party won only 2 seats despite 167 rallies and 42 roadshows by Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
After the debacle, Randeep Singh Surjewala held a press conference and said a Congress Working Committee meeting will be convened soon.
Congress G-23 leaders to demand reforms during CWC meet
Agitated by this loss, a Congress group of 23 leaders (G-23) convened a meeting on Friday
Agitated by the humiliating loss in polls, Congress G23 met at senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s residence in the national capital on Friday and as per the sources, they are set to raise their demand for reforms in the party during the CWC meeting to be held in the next few days.After the results, Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor, who is also a G-23 member, called for a reform in the organisational leadership of the party.
“It is time to reaffirm the idea of India that the Congress has stood for and the positive agenda it offers the nation — and to reform our organisational leadership in a manner that will reignite those ideas and inspire the people,” he said.
