The disquiet within the Congress over the debacle in the recent Assembly elections played out in the public domain even as party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra held a closed-door review of its performance in Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday.
Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and party veteran Harish Rawat hinted at sabotage by colleagues not just against him but also his daughter, while countering the charge that he “sold” tickets to unworthy candidates. Mr. Rawat indicated that he could look at “other options” if he is seen as a liability for repeatedly losing elections.
Separately, the G-23 leaders, who had written to party chief Sonia Gandhi for sweeping internal reforms and collective leadership, too are said to be planning to meet on Wednesday to formulate their next course of action.
A key member of the group, Kapil Sibal, has already publically taken on the Gandhis by stating that while people like him wanted a “Congress for all,” some others wanted a “Congress for the family”.
Former party chief Rahul Gandhi, however, walked away when reporters asked him for a response when he was entering the Parliament House.
Another member of G-23, Sandeep Dikshit, said that “those who were responsible for formulating policies in the poll bound States should accept responsibility for the loss”.
Mr. Rawat, who has been blamed for the loss in Uttarakhand as well as “mishandling” Punjab as the former in-charge, hit out at his detractors.
“In Punjab, Hindus are our largest support base. In the middle of the elections, who said I was not made a Chief Minister because I am a Hindu,” asked Mr Rawat, referring to former Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar.
“I pray to God that the Congress takes note of the allegations against me and expels from the party. Holi is a festival where one burns down evil and Harish Rawat should also be politically buried,” Mr Rawat added to counter the allegation by friend-turned-foe Ranjeet Rawat, who lost the election from Salt constituency of Almora.
In the run up to the election, both leaders were locked in a battle over the Ramnagar seat. While the party had declared the former Chief Minister from this seat, the threat of sabotage from the supporters of Mr. Ranjeet forced the party to change the former Chief Minister’s seat to Lalkuan, from where he eventually lost. “I had given the seat of my choice but accepted the decision to contest rom fLalkuan,” he said.
Amid this public churn, Ms. Vadra held a review meeting of the party’s performance in Uttar Pradesh with senior leaders from the State in Delhi. The meeting came just two day after the Congress Working Committee decided to hold a chintan shivir (brainstorming session) to review as well as prepare for the upcoming elections this year, next year and the Lok Sabha election of 2024.
