After meeting with G-23 leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Congress president Sonia Gandhi reached out to other members of the group. Gandhi held a meeting with Manish Tewari, Anand Sharma and Vivek Tankha on Tuesday, as she stepped up efforts to placate the leaders of the G-23 dissident group to find unity within the party facing a major existential crisis. Sources said they told her that the leadership should not rely on a select few to run the affairs of the party and must establish a collective decision-making model. Sonia, however, is learnt to have told the three leaders that a massive overhaul wouldn’t be not possible immediately, given that a new president is to be elected in August. At the same time, Sonia also urged them against speaking out in public. There is speculation that Sonia Gandhi is likely to accommodate some of the G-23 leaders either in important organisational positions, or offer Rajya Sabha berths from States where the Congress can manage to win. G-23 leaders have been pushing for an elected Congress Working Committee, reconstitution of the Central Election Committee, reviving Congress Parliamentary Board as well as building a common political platform to forge ties with like-minded Opposition parties ahead of the 2024 general elections.
BIHAR BJP’S MLA TALLY EXCEEDS RJD’S WITH THREE NEW ENTRANTS
After a spectacular win of BJP in states like Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur assembly elections, the BJP in Bihar too got a big boost when all three MLAs of its ally, the Vikassheel Insaan Party (VIP), met Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha and told him they’d be joining the party. With this move, the strength of the BJP in the Bihar assembly will shoot up to 77, overtaking the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which has 75 MLAs. The three MLAs in question — Misri Lal Yadav, Raju Singh, Swarna Singh — went against the wishes of VIP chief Mukesh Sahani, in their bid to join the BJP. With this move, Sahani is in a very sticky situation since his term expires in June. Sahani said: “It is the chief minister’s prerogative to keep me in his Cabinet. I was inducted by him and it must be decided by him whether I should remain or be dropped.”
AICC GENERAL SECRETARY K C VENUGOPAL FACES IRE IN HOMETURF KERALA
The dismal show put up by the Congress in the five recently held state assembly elections and provoking calls for reform from a rebellious G-23 has turned a good chunk of party workers in Kerala against the AICC General Secretary (organization) KC Venugopal, who is considered as the eyes and ears of the Rahul Gandhi. In the three years since, Venugopal has moved into key roles in the decision-making apparatus of the Congress. But it seems like he has run out of steam and popularity in his home state, where posters have started appearing against his continuation in such high office. The simmering discontent has followed the electoral loss in Kerala last April, when CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front won a rare second successive term.
DESPITE LOSS, YOUNGSTER LAMBA, VETERAN KHURSHID DEFEND THE GANDHIS
Congress national spokesperson Alka Lamba has emerged as one of the potential capable rising stars in the Congress. She is active in TV debates and discussions where she represents the strong views of the party. Alka Lamba asserted that it was due to the sheer efforts of the party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi raising the issue of giving women their due in politics that all political parties had begun focusing on women issues. She said the “Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon” slogan coined by Priyanka ensured other parties started speaking about women’s issues. On the other hand coming out in support of the Gandhis in the wake of senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal’s remarks that they should step aside from the leadership role and give some other person a chance to lead the party, former Union minister and Congress Working committee member Salman Khurshid had said: “The Gandhi family is the party’s integrating factor and the best possible leadership option in this moment of crisis.” Apparently referring to the demand of the G-23 leaders for elections at all levels, including to pick CWC members, he said, “The party was asked to hold an election and the party is holding an election.” According to Khurshid, the common perception after talking to people within the party is that they would like Rahul Gandhi to take over as full-time party president.
SONIA GANDHI WANTS CONGRESS TO STEP UP MEMBERSHIP DRIVE
Congress President Sonia Gandhi has called a meeting of all general secretaries and party in-charges of states on March 26 to discuss the special membership drive, organisational election and planning agitational programmes. This is in continuance of Sonia’s meetings with Himachal Pradesh leaders and those with MPs from various states. Sonia Gandhi, who is likely to attend the meeting and will review the progress of the membership drive so far as well as re-starting nationwide agitations after a pause in the past three months due to Assembly elections to Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Goa and Manipur. The meeting comes after the Congress Working Committee (CWC) authorised Ms. Gandhi to take immediate corrective steps in the wake of the party’s rout in the recent Assembly elections. (IPA Service)
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