Congress leader M Mallikarjun Kharge said that party leader Rahul Gandhi will be pursued to take over the party president post, saying that no other party leader has a “pan-India appeal” as he has.
Kharge, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, further said anyone aspiring to lead the party should be “well-recognised” across the country and enjoy support from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and West Bengal to Gujarat.
“He should be well-recognised, accepted man to the entire Congress party. So, no body is there (in the party with such a stature),” he told PTI.
Ahead of the election for the Congress president post, several Congress leaders have been urging Rahul Gandhi to take over the key party post again but uncertainty continues to loom over the party’s presidency conundrum.
Rahul Gandhi had stepped down as Congress president in 2019 after the party faced its second consecutive defeat in Lok Sabha elections following which Sonia Gandhi took over the reins of the party again as interim president.
On being asked about reports that Gandhi is not willing to take up the mantle, Kharge said he will be requested and asked to take charge “for the sake of the party, for the sake of the country, for fighting the RSS-BJP and to keep the country united”.
“We will ask him, we will force him and request him (to return as Congress President). We stand behind him. We will try to pursue him”, the former Union Minister said.
The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party’s top decision-making body, is set to hold a virtual meeting on Sunday to finalise the schedule for the election of the Congress president.
The election for the key party post that was to end by September 20 is likely to be delayed by a few weeks, sources said Thursday.
Earlier, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had said that Rahul Gandhi should reconsider his decision of not taking over the post of party chief, adding that party members across the country would be disappointed if he doesn’t do so.
He also said the party is “unanimously” in favour of Rahul Gandhi for the post, adding that the latter should accept the role considering the sentiments of Congress workers across the country.
