Congress Working Committee member and United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi arrived for a meeting of the party’s committee on Saturday morning, a day after the 2019 General Election results were made final. The core committee is meeting at the party’s headquarters amid speculation that Congress President Rahul Gandhi will offer to resign after their dismal performance in the elections.
Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi also arrived for the meeting soon after. The Congress Working Committee is the party’s highest decision making body. The meeting of the committee was called to discuss what had led to the party’s poor performance in the elections.
The Congress had firmly rejected speculation that Gandhi had offered to resign from the party’s leadership. The party had said these reports were “mischievous and incorrect”, Hindustan Times reported.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, senior leaders P Chidambaram and Siddaramaiah, AK Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sheila Dikshit, Mallikarjun Kharge, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia also took part in the meeting, PTI reported.
Chief ministers of Punjab and Rajasthan, Amarinder Singh and Ashok Gehlot, attended the meeting, while Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath reportedly skipped the meet.
The Congress won just 52 seats in the Lok Sabha, up from 44 in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The party will not get the post of the Leader of Opposition in the House as it needed 55 seats. Ahead of the Congress Working Committee meeting, several party leaders had claimed that Gandhi’s “chowkidar chor hai” campaign against Prime Minister Narendra Modi was negative in its tone and worked against the party’s favour, according to The Indian Express.
At least four Congress leaders have resigned for the party’s poor performance in their respective states.
Also read:
2019 results: After two routs in two General Elections, can the Congress stay relevant?
Why was Congress routed in 3 states it won 6 months ago? Here’s what party leaders are scared to say
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!