The leaders of the disgruntled G-23 camp of Congress again met at the house of senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Thursday evening. The meeting was held for the second time in 24 hours. During this Kapil Sibal, Anand and Bhupendra Hooda were present. Earlier, Hooda had met Rahul Gandhi today. That is why this meeting took place. Some leaders have also indicated that such meetings will be held regularly from now on to keep pressure on the top leadership.
Dissatisfied with the stand of the Gandhi family loyalists in the Working Committee, the leaders have held several meetings since Friday. This time the party’s highest decision-making body, the CWC, had turned down Sonia Gandhi’s offer to step down from all posts along with her children Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
A total of 18 leaders, including dissidents and some new faces from six states, met on Wednesday to discuss the way forward after the party’s defeat in the state elections. The Congress has lost Punjab and practically wiped out in Uttar Pradesh and other states. Even after this, the reaction of the leaders was ignored. A statement said they were in favor of “collective, inclusive leadership” and demanded that the Congress be proactive and create a platform with other like-minded parties to take on the BJP in 2024.
There was no talk of organizational elections or electing a leader other than the Gandhi family to the top post, whose demand is gradually increasing. Sources said the leaders have decided not to part ways with the party for the time being. The rationale was that given the weak position of the party, it could go awry.
The leaders of the G-23 camp had written to Sonia Gandhi two years ago and demanded organizational elections and leadership change. One of them, Ghulam Nabi Azad, was expected to meet Sonia today and give her message.