Congress leadership crisis: Split wide open

The Indian National Congress instead of reinventing itself after its second successive defeat in Lok Sabha election continues to hop from one crisis to another. 

On Sunday, interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi offered her resignation to the party so that a new president can be elected.

Sources inside the Congress party confirmed the letter was indeed written to Sonia Gandhi and she too had responded to the letter. 

In the very letter, she had suggested that all issues will be discussed within the party forum and the new leader can be elected if everyone is of the opinion. 

According to the reports, Sonia Gandhi is not going to continue as Congress President indefinitely. Regardless of pressure on her from party faithfuls to continue, she will only grace the office until a new president is elected. This period, undoubtedly, is going to be very short.

Sources said that it is for the discussion of the grievances Sonia Gandhi had called for a Congress Working Committee meeting on August 24. It is the leak of Sonia Gandhi’s response which has upset Gandhi family.

This comes in the wake three dozen-odd leaders writing to Sonia Gandhi asking her to commence reforms in the Congress. A set of senior leaders is upset at the fact that decisions in the Congress party are being taken without consultations and Rahul Gandhi continues to run the party through the office of KC Venugopal who happens to be the General Secretary Organisation.

The leaders who shot off a letter to Sonia wants the immediate election to the Congress Working Committee but with Sonia Gandhi putting her papers, it will put them on backfoot. Sonia Gandhi as the Congress President in this period had closely aligned the party with ideas of Rahul Gandhi. Whether it personal and upfront attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on political and security issues to getting KC Venugopal and Rajiv Satav a seat in Rajya Sabha, Sonia Gandhi has supported decisions of Rahul Gandhi. This is being resented by a large majority of leaders that Rahul Gandhi instead of taking everyone along has chosen a set of people to run the party without consultation.

Gandhi camp, on the other hand, feel that letter is a ruse for bargaining for positions within the party. It is suspected that discussion may start from functioning from at the top but concrete compromise may each on important positions like General Secretary Organisation or head of the media department.

Gandhi camp also feels that the crisis is created and not natural. The Opposite camp feels that the party is not been run properly and requires greater participation from all sides rather than being run by a few people. Though sources feel that Sonia’s gesture to put in her paper would be immediately rejected by the seniors in the group who feel that in her absence Rahul’s takeover would become imminent.