Chorus for Rahul Gandhi as Congress president grows louder as party leaders Ashok Gehlot, DK Shiva Kumar and others back idea

Even as Congress Working Commiittee meeting is underway to discuss party's performance in 5-state assembly polls, party's chief whip Manickam Tagore said the Congress workers want former party president Rahul Gandhi to lead the party again.

According to India Today report, before the CWC meeting, Tagore said, "Rahul Gandhi ji led by example after the 2019 Lok Sabha defeat, he came to the working committee and submitted his resignation from the post of party chief. He is the leader who shows the path, he has to lead us," adding, "We as Congress workers always wanted Rahul Gandhiji to take back the resignation and we hope that Rahulji will take over in future as Congress president."

Further Manickam said, "Congress is the only party that can fight against organised parties like Sangh and BJP. We are the main opposition party, therefore all criticism will be directed towards Congress only."

Similarly, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also said that the Gandhi family is important for the Congress' unity and Rahul Gandhi should become the party president.

Gehlot said, "Rahul Gandhi should become the party president. For the last three decades, nobody from the Gandhi family became the Prime Minister or a minister. It is significant to understand that the Gandhi family is important for Congress' unity.

Karnataka Congress president D K Shivakumar also backed the idea to make Gandhi the party chief. "As I have said it earlier as well, Sh. Rahul Gandhi should take up the Congress presidency in a full time role immediately. This is the wish of millions of Congress workers like me," he tweeted.

For the unversed, Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president after the party suffered its second consecutive defeat in general elections in 2019. Sonia Gandhi, who took over the reins of the party again as interim president, had also offered to quit in August 2020 after strong criticism by a section of leaders, referred to as G-23, but the CWC had urged her to continue.

The recently concluded Assembly polls verdict raised serious questions about the future of the Congress, which was neither able to retain power in Punjab nor effectively challenge the incumbent in Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. In UP, a two-cornered race pushed Congress to a distant margin.

(with agency inputs)