Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is likely to be appointed as the next Congress president as Rahul Gandhi is adamant on his stand that he does not want to continue as the party chief, sources told Zee News. Sources in the Delhi unit of the party say that a large chunk of Congress is in favour of Gehlot’s elevation as the party chief.
It is also likely that Gehlot will continue to serve as the Chief Minister of Rajasthan. Leaders are believed to have given arguments in favour of Gehlot stating that many party presidents have served as chief ministers of states. The names of West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee, Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik, former Uttar Pradesh CMs Akhilesh Yadav and Mayawati and former Tamil Nadu CM late J Jayalalithaa are said to have been cited as examples in favour of Gehlot continuing as Rajasthan CM.
Sources added that the top brass of the Congress, as well as the Gandhi family, is said to be in favour of Gehlot taking over as the party chief.
Hectic parleys are on within the Congress over who will be the next party president as Rahul, who is currently the chief, had offered his resignation after the Lok Sabha results were announced last month. Rahul had taken responsibility for the party’s debacle in the election and despite the party urging him to continue on the post, he has remained firm that he wants to step down from his position.
The Congress had won 52 seats in the Lok Sabha elections, which is just eight more than what the Congress won in 2014. The NDA, on the other hand, registered a massive victory, winning 352 seats to retain power at the Centre. The BJP alone won 303 seats, its highest ever tally.
'NON-GANDHI CAN BE CONG CHIEF, BUT...’
- Congress leader Mani Shankar Aiyar on Sunday said a ‘non-Gandhi’ can be party chief, but the Gandhi family must remain active within the organisation.
- The BJP’s objective is to have a “Gandhi-mukt Congress” so as to have a “Congress-mukt Bharat”, he claimed.
- It would be best that Rahul remains party chief, but at the same time, Rahul’s own wishes must also be respected, Aiyar said.
- “I am sure we can survive if we have to without a Nehru-Gandhi as the titular head of the party, provided the Nehru-Gandhis remain active in the party and can help resolve a crisis in case serious differences arise,” the senior Congress leader said.
- Aiyar said Rahul has given about a month to the party to find a replacement and there have been confabulations within the Congress over the issue with the feeling in the party overwhelmingly in favour of Rahul staying on.
- The former Union minister, however, emphasised that instead of speculating, media must wait for the “deadline” to know whether a replacement has been found or Rahul Gandhi gets persuaded to remain Congress chief.
― Zee Media Newsroom
