Rehaul versus Rahul in Congress as Sonia set to quit

As the power play in 'out of power' Congress on Sunday assumed dramatic proportions ahead of Congress Working Committee meeting, a number of leaders, who claim to be loyal to Rahul Gandhi, cried foul.

They said that the 23 leaders' letter to Sonia Gandhi, seeking a complete 're-haul' of the party is nothing but an attempt to marginalise Rahul.

Young leaders close to Rahul find the letter to be in demand for a leader who is 'visible' in party offices, and young voters having shifted loyalty to BJP, questions are being raised on the leadership of Rahul.

Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam, who had earlier alleged that Rahul Gandhi’s close associates are being pushed to the sidelines in the party, said that instead of Sonia Gandhi resigning, all members of Congress Working Committee (including those who have penned the letter to Sonia) should resign as Rahul had resigned in 2019 taking responsibility for the Lok Sabha poll debate.

Political analyst Rasheed Kidwai called the development an “uprising against the Gandhis”. “This is a no-confidence against them. This is very uncharitable also coming at a time when it was the Gandhis who recently managed to resolve a major political crisis in the party-ruled Rajasthan. Also, the leaders, who wrote the letters mostly owe their rise in positions to the Gandhi family and cannot win any election on their own," he said.

When Rahul had resigned in 2019, he was seeking to send a message that senior leaders in the position of power should also put in their papers for Congress' disaster in 2019 Lok Sabha elections and had slammed Kamal Nath, Ashok Gehlot and P Chidambaram for focussing on the future of their sons instead of the party.

However, the seniors stuck to their guns. Later, Nath government collapsed in Madhya Pradesh after Jyotridaditya Scindia's rebellion and the latter joined the BJP. On the other hand, the Gehlot government could survive the rebellion of Sachin Pilot only after Gandhis (Priyanka and Rahul to be precise) intervened to pacify Pilot.

As per insiders, Rahul felt that he was not given a free hand and once he quit, his team got sidelined. In the last two years, many young leaders like Ashok Tanwar (Haryana), Ajoy Kumar (Jharkhand), Pradyot Deb Barman (Tripura) who are groomed by him have been left out of the party.

Congress supporter Tehseen Poonawalla, who is regular on the TV debates, said, “For me and 11 crore voters who vote for Congress, our leaders are only the Gandhi's. Sonia Gandhi ji, Rahul & PGV. We do not trust any other leader to fight the BJP/RSS but the Gandhi family that has sacrificed a lot for this great nation. Proud to be a Gandhi supporter! “

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel wrote a letter to Rahul Gandhi, urging him to return as the president of the party saying, “Under the leadership of Rahul ji, the party put up a good show in the Gujarat assembly elections and paved the way for the formation of government in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh."

He obviously glossed over the fact that the Congress recorded its two worst poll debacles in 2014 and 2019 general elections when Rahul Gandhi was in command. Assam Congress chief Ripun Bora wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi requesting her to give the position of Congress president to Rahul Gandhi so that he can lead the party and fight BJP and RSS from the front.

Ironically, the demand for change in leadership did not come from 2013 to 2017, when the party recorded a series of losses in polls. But as Congress looks to stage a comeback after their performances in some states improved, cracks begin to appear. They have been successful in winning three in 2018 (MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh) and becoming an ally in the governments of Jharkhand and Maharashtra and have improved its tally in Haryana in 2019.

Will Congress' somewhat resurgence be thwarted by this crisis? Only the future holds the answer.