Congress deadlock on president continues

The All India Congress Committee on Wednesday indicated party president Rahul Gandhi was ‘minimally functioning’ even as the stalemate over his resignation continued for the sixth day. The party said Gandhi, along with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former PM Manmohan Singh, will attend the swearing-in ceremony of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday. Gandhi also tweeted a congratulatory message to Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik after he took oath. Some Delhi Congress workers also put up a show outside Gandhi’s residence appealing to him to withdraw his resignation, even as some PCCs passed resolutions to the same and signaled the ‘activation’ of the Congress ‘orchestra’.

In another development, names of some senior leaders were ‘floated’ by certain Congress quarters as probable candidates for the Congress working president’s post, should such an arrangement end the stalemate. How far these proposals would progress will, however, depend a lot on Rahul Gandhi, and his advisors who have been pitching for a ‘generational overhaul’ after Congress’ consecutive rout in the Lok Sabha elections.

Sheila Dikshit, an entrenched player of the Congress establishment, on Wednesday urged Gandhi to reconsider his resignation. It is, however, not clear whether she personally met Gandhi or conveyed her message to the Congress chief at a time when some younger leaders want him to stick to his decision.


“I have given him the message that he should not resign. We want him to continue in his post. Otherwise, it will cause us pain. We have conveyed that to him,” said Sheila Dikshit, who paraded Congress workers outside Gandhi’s residence.