Ready to make any sacrifice, says Sonia Gandhi as CWC reaffirms faith in her leadership

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, March 13

Close on the heels of electoral losses in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Goa and Manipur, the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on Sunday reaffirmed its faith in the leadership of party president Sonia Gandhi and authorised her to make “necessary and comprehensive organisational changes to meet political challenges”.

Though Sonia, while chairing the meeting, told the CWC that she and her family were ready to make “any sacrifice” needed to strengthen the party, the CWC unanimously backed her, asking her to continue to lead the party until the election of the new president is held later this year.

The CWC decided to hold an introspection meeting (chintan shivir) of senior leaders after the Budget session to firm up the strategy for 2022 and 2023 state elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, while acknowledging that the party lost in five states due to “shortcomings in its strategy”. The meeting lasted for over five hours in which AICC general secretaries and observers for the five states gave presentations on what went wrong.

The CWC said the BJP and RSS attacked the Gandhis to weaken the Congress and the issue was not of anyone’s resignation. “Everyone knows who takes on the BJP and RSS the most. It is the Gandhis,” said CWC member Ajoy Kumar, adding that the committee also discussed the emergence of AAP and noted that AAP was “BJP’s B team” and Arvind Kejriwal could make PM Narendra Modi “look liberal”.

The CWC acknowledged the poll results were a cause of serious concern for the party, which, “due to lack of strategy, could not effectively expose the BJP’s misrule in four states and overcome anti-incumbency in Punjab in a short time after effecting a change of leadership”.

“The Congress assures its workers and the people of India that it will continue to remain a vigilant and vibrant opposition and will be fully prepared to face the challenges in the 2022 and 2023 state as well as the Lok Sabha elections,” the committee said.

Prior to the meeting, several veterans, including Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shiva Kumar, urged Rahul Gandhi to take over the Congress leadership.

AICC media in-charge Randeep Surjewala, when asked if similar demands were made at the meeting, said, “Every worker wants Rahul Gandhi to lead the Congress, but the next president will be chosen through organisational election scheduled in August- September.”

Rahul, meanwhile, spoke of the need to make the Congress battle-ready and keep fighting the “communal forces”.

Take steps for revival: G-23

G-23 members Ghulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma, who attended CWC meet, said all their suggestions directed towards single goal of party’s resurgence.

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• Punjab: Ex-CM Capt Amarinder should have been replaced earlier to offset anti-incumbency
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