Sonia Gandhi meets some G-23 leaders, holds deliberations on Himachal polls

Days after meeting G-23 leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Tuesday met another set of change-seekers Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Vivek Tankha along with Digivijaya Singh during which the leaders apprised of their suggestions for change in party organisation and working style.

Separately, Sonia also held a meeting with around two dozen leaders of Himachal Pradesh while Rahul Gandhi held a meeting with leaders from Gujarat, both poll-bound states, to take stock of the situation to take on the ruling BJP as well as its preparations, amid a resurgent AAP trying to woo its leaders.

Also Read: All parties, including Congress, create division among people: Ghulam Nabi Azad

Already Sonia has met MPs from Punjab to review the poll performance while she also held one-on-one meetings with Kerala MPs.

With the G-23 or change-seekers raising issues about the party’s future course of action, sources said Sonia decided to widen her consultations and called Sharma, Tewari, Tankha and Singh to her residence for a meeting. Sonia is also likely to meet some more leaders of the G-23 in the coming days.

Azad also met a group of G-23 leaders while Sharma, Tewari and Tankha too met him after their meeting with Sonia.

This meeting came four days after she held deliberations with Azad after G-23 leaders attempted to raise the decibel levels on the party’s performance and functioning. However, sources said, Sonia has managed to cool the tempers and a number of G-23 leaders have fallen in line.

While none of the G-23 leaders, except Kapil Sibal, have questioned Sonia’s leaders, sources said some of them are worried about their utility in the party in an era after Sonia and possibility of Rahul Gandhi assuming charge. The old guard had reservations about whether Rahul would accommodate them.

Sources said Sonia is confident that she could find a middle-path and bring peace within the party.

Sources said G-23 leaders are eyeing organisational positions in Congress Working Committee as well as other fora in the party and the leadership is willing to reasonably accommodate them while not ruling out the possibility of bringing Azad to Rajya Sabha again. “But this is a long road. We will have to wait how things will evolve,” a senior leader said.

A top Congress leader said that these meetings were follow-ups of the CWC decision asking the party president to take steps to revitalise the party by having adequate consultation with leaders.

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