New Delhi: Senior Congress leaders have put the ball in Sonia Gandhi's court to persuade Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation as the party president or else herself take over as a temporary measure. It should happen in another three-four days, and certainly before Parliament meet next Monday.
They are concerned over the party paralysed at the critical juncture for the past 17 days when it has to prepare for three crucial Assembly elections in Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand in October.
Rahul had asked the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on May 25 to look for someone from outside the Nehru-Gandhi family, but the veterans have come to a conclusion after some dozen meetings in the past fortnight that Sonia alone commands acceptability among both central and state leaders.
They say Sonia has the experience of steering the Congress through crisis and has ability to take different factions along to be effective in controlling the infighting that has usurped in the states.
The proposal is that Rahul returns as the party president after two years to lead in the 2024 general elections and as Sonia may not be interested in looking after the nitty-gritty of the organisation, two working presidents or vice-presidents.
AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel, who has been the political secretary to Sonia for many years, may be asked to be one of the working presidents to take day-to-day load of work off her.
The veterans are also approaching Sonia to consider reviving the parliamentary board of eight to 10 members to take important decisions.
The Congress constitution provides for a parliamentary board, the highest body to take all key decisions since the pre-Independence days, but its formation was stopped since Indira Gandhi days as she preferred a coterie to take decisions and get them endorsed by the CWC.
A veteran leader, who has already broached to solution with Sonia to reactivate the Congress, said if Rahul rejected the idea of Sonia stepping in to stabilise the board, the group has already identified
AICC general secretary Mallikarjun Kharge (76), a Dalit leader from Karnataka who was leader of the party in the last Lok Sabha but could not be elected this time. Two other names in the reckoning are: Former defence minister AK Antony (78) and former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan (73).
The tentative solution to the Congress crisis created by Rahul's resignation was discussed in a series of meetings involving leaders like Dr Manmohan Singh, Ahmed Patel, AK Antony, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kharge and Anand Sharma.
