New Delhi: Congress Chief Rahul Gandhi’s decision to step down was not accepted by the party but he remains determined to quit following the party’s defeat in the LS polls.
Though he announced his resignation, he refused to meet the newly elected lawmakers who called on him, NDTV reports.
In his first tweet ever since he announced to step down, he paid tribute to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru his great-grandfather to mark his death anniversary.
Sources close to Rahul Gandhi said though he is determined to quit, he is “not abandoning the post” that means Rahul would step down to give a new person the top job.
His decision was welcomed by mother Sonia Gandhi and sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra who reportedly agreed but first they had initially tried to get him to change his mind – and acknowledge that the Congress “has to come to terms with the fact that there has to be a change of guard” and a total reset.
According to sources despite several leaders pleading Rahul to change his decision, he did not change his mind.
Officially, the party had previously told the reporters on Saturday that Rahul Gandhi’s resignation offer had been “unanimously rejected”.
Addressing the CWC meeting on Saturday, Rahul Gandhi who is held responsible for patty’s defeat with his disastrous campaign reminded leaders not naming anyone that they had put their sons before the party and “pushed” for their candidature in the Lok Sabha polls.
But Mr Gandhi did make it sound and clear that he would not “vanish” and would continue to work for the party. “It is not necessary that the president should be from Gandhi family,” sources quoted him as saying.
When Priyanka Gandhi’s name came up as an alternative, Mr Gandhi reportedly said: “Don’t drag my sister into it.”
The Congress was defeated in 17 states, including Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, the states it won in December. Congress also failed the test in Karnataka, another state it rules in alliance with HD Kumarasamy. Only in Punjab, where it has been in power since 2017, did Congress win eight of 13 seats.