After the defeat in five provinces, there is a ruckus in the Congress. After the meeting of the leaders of G-23, it was decided today that the Congress Working Committee meeting will brainstorm on the defeat at 4 pm on Sunday. There are speculations that the party’s organizational elections may be held ahead of time on the demand of the rebel faction. On the other hand, Sonia Gandhi will hold discussions with the Parliamentary Strategy Group at 10 am on Sunday before the Working Committee meeting.
After the defeat in five states, questions are being raised on the future of the Congress. The performance of the Congress in the elections was disappointing. It has got two seats in UP. Whereas Goa has got 11 seats. In Manipur, Congress has got 5 seats, in Uttarakhand, despite being a strong alternative to BJP, it could win only 19 seats. The biggest blow was in Punjab. Despite all the political experiments, the Congress was reduced to 18 seats.
The attitude of the leaders of G23, who were already vocal against the Congress leadership, has started to intensify after the defeat. Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari and some other leaders also attended the meeting held at the residence of senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad in Delhi on Friday evening. It was believed that their meeting would pay off and the same thing happened. It is evident from the meeting of the working committee convened in a hurry that the Gandhi family is under pressure from 23 leaders. There is every possibility of a ruckus in the meeting.
The leaders of the G23 have already put forth their state of mind. Senior Congress leaders say that they did not expect such a shameful performance. Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad said that his heart is crying with tears of blood. On the other hand, another senior Congress leader Salman Khurshid said that he felt completely cheated and trapped.
It is believed that in Sunday’s meeting, the rebel leaders will raise the demand for reforms in the party. These leaders have demanded a closed-door meeting with only core members to discuss the election defeat. Most G-23 members have publicly expressed their dismay at the electoral defeat, although the Congress has said it lost the election, but not the heart.
On the other hand, Congress Karnataka President DK Shivakumar has said that the defeat is undoubtedly embarrassing. But at present the party has no alternative to the Gandhi family. There is no leader whom the public can accept and take the Congress back to the corridors of power. The leaders of G23 are expressing grief but do they have the power to rebuild the party?