Whatever be the fate of Congress government in Rajasthan, a massive blow has been delivered to the Congress leadership by Sachin Pilot. He has shown that central leadership does not count for anything in the Congress and demonstrated the weakness of the Interim Congress President. 
 
Imagine that party’s top leadership was unable to speak to him through Sunday. After Jyotiraditya Scindhia, it will be the second big exit from the Congress if it happens.

Even in Maharashtra, a fait accompli was served to Sonia Gandhi whereby regional leadership went and formed the government with Shiv Sena and NCP.

Secondly, many leaders in the Congress are comparing an impending exit by Sachin Pilot and his marginalization to a purge in the party where they feel that Rahul Gandhi does not want some leaders in the organizational fold anymore. Many have silently conveyed that they are paying the price for suggesting a non-Gandhi name for the position of the President of the party after Rahul Gandhi’s exit.

Thirdly, 2019 Lok Sabha defeat did away with the old binary of old vs new in the Congress Party. After 2019 defeat, a new political architecture has evolved in the Congress. A section of the party is being run by Rahul Gandhi through organizational general secretary K C Venugopal and another by senior leader Ahmad Patel who by virtue of his political weight continues to exercise power in the organization. It is no more a fight between old and new, but between a Rahul Gandhi camp and others, and has young and old in both camps. For example, Sachin Pilot met Ahmad Patel but did not make himself available to the top leadership of the Congress, despite being once considered close to Rahul Gandhi, while Ashok Gehlot is now closer to Rahul Gandhi where he was once considered Ahmad Patel’s man.

Added to this melee is another set of people whom I call the “lost generation” who are loyal Congressmen but considered close to Ahmad Patel and could never reconfigure a relationship with Rahul Gandhi who always regarded them with a degree of suspicion. This “lost generation” is also one of the main reason behind the dissent as most of them joined Congress when Sonia Gandhi was taking over the party in 90s. Coming back to the point, 10 Janpath is confident that Rahul Gandhi would take over as the President of the Congress in August and would like leaders in sync with him, leaving others out in the cold.

In politics, however, wishes don’t&nbsp;turn into reality. If and when Rahul Gandhi takes over the Congress, he will, once again, inherit a party that is at loggerheads with the leadership. Deepinder Hooda’s Rajya Sabha seat is the best example where his father Bhupinder Hooda made sure of his son’s ticket to the Upper House despite opposition from the Gandhi family.

Sachin Pilot may or may not remain in the Congress, but his exit would send a message to leaders like RPN Singh, Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada, people who went on to become the young faces of UPA 2 between 2009-2014 that despite their age (or lack of it) if not firmly aligned with the Gandhi’s, they may have no space in the party.

Though some politicians like Ashok Tanwar have been compromised in the feud, the writing on the wall is clear that Rahul Gandhi will not let go of control and is being actively encouraged to intervene more openly. In the meeting held on Saturday with party MPs, Interim President Sonia Gandhi asked Rahul Gandhi to intervene a number of times when, barring a few, the rest of them praised him for a “successful” anti-government campaign. Rahul Gandhi politely refused to intervene almost all the times but the writing on the wall was clear and that being that this time Sonia Gandhi will not let allow any dissent on Rahul Gandhi.

Sachin Pilot is himself a dynast like Jyotiraditya Scindhia but his reinvention in 2014 made him get rid of the dynast tag. He reinvented himself and worked in Rajasthan where other people were sulking in Delhi. It is for this reason, he still enjoys sympathy.

Life within Congress can continue as normal even if Sachin Pilot leaves, but it will impact its image badly. In the 1970s and 80s, socialists were bitter adversaries of Indira Gandhi, but they could never keep their house in order. They also sealed the image in public that they could neither run a government efficiently nor be a cohesive political unit. In this case, the continuous exit of leaders for varying reasons can reinforce the image that Rahul Gandhi cannot run the Congress properly. Sometimes perceptions become a liability bigger than the actual weight of facts and Rahul Gandhi needs to be mindful of it. By 1990s, Indians junked socialists after romanticising them for 45 years and voted for BJP as an alternative to Congress. Rest is history.

Congress lost Lok Sabha elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. 2024 is far away. If he cannot put the house in order, then there will be nothing to fight against with and Congress will get reduced to another Swatantra Party or Jan Sangh which neither had a say nor the way in Lok Sabha till Indira Gandhi was alive. 
&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Whatever be the fate of Congress government in Rajasthan, a massive blow has been delivered to the Congress leadership by Sachin Pilot. He has shown that central leadership does not count for anything in the Congress and demonstrated the weakness of the Interim Congress President.

Whatever be the fate of Congress government in Rajasthan, a massive blow has been delivered to the Congress leadership by Sachin Pilot. He has shown that central leadership does not count for anything in the Congress and demonstrated the weakness of the Interim Congress President. Imagine that party’s top leadership was unable to speak to him through Sunday. After Jyotiraditya Scindhia, it will be the second big exit from the Congress if it happens. Even in Maharashtra, a fait accompli was served to Sonia Gandhi whereby regional leadership went and formed the government with Shiv Sena and NCP. Secondly, many leaders in the Congress are comparing an impending exit by Sachin Pilot and his marginalization to a purge in the party where they feel that Rahul Gandhi does not want some leaders in the organizational fold anymore. Many have silently conveyed that they are paying the price for suggesting a non-Gandhi name for the position of the President of the party after Rahul Gandhi’s exit. Thirdly, 2019 Lok Sabha defeat did away with the old binary of old vs new in the Congress Party. After 2019 defeat, a new political architecture has evolved in the Congress. A section of the party is being run by Rahul Gandhi through organizational general secretary K C Venugopal and another by senior leader Ahmad Patel who by virtue of his political weight continues to exercise power in the organization. It is no more a fight between old and new, but between a Rahul Gandhi camp and others, and has young and old in both camps. For example, Sachin Pilot met Ahmad Patel but did not make himself available to the top leadership of the Congress, despite being once considered close to Rahul Gandhi, while Ashok Gehlot is now closer to Rahul Gandhi where he was once considered Ahmad Patel’s man. Added to this melee is another set of people whom I call the “lost generation” who are loyal Congressmen but considered close to Ahmad Patel and could never reconfigure a relationship with Rahul Gandhi who always regarded them with a degree of suspicion. This “lost generation” is also one of the main reason behind the dissent as most of them joined Congress when Sonia Gandhi was taking over the party in 90s. Coming back to the point, 10 Janpath is confident that Rahul Gandhi would take over as the President of the Congress in August and would like leaders in sync with him, leaving others out in the cold. In politics, however, wishes don’t turn into reality. If and when Rahul Gandhi takes over the Congress, he will, once again, inherit a party that is at loggerheads with the leadership. Deepinder Hooda’s Rajya Sabha seat is the best example where his father Bhupinder Hooda made sure of his son’s ticket to the Upper House despite opposition from the Gandhi family. Sachin Pilot may or may not remain in the Congress, but his exit would send a message to leaders like RPN Singh, Milind Deora and Jitin Prasada, people who went on to become the young faces of UPA 2 between 2009-2014 that despite their age (or lack of it) if not firmly aligned with the Gandhi’s, they may have no space in the party. Though some politicians like Ashok Tanwar have been compromised in the feud, the writing on the wall is clear that Rahul Gandhi will not let go of control and is being actively encouraged to intervene more openly. In the meeting held on Saturday with party MPs, Interim President Sonia Gandhi asked Rahul Gandhi to intervene a number of times when, barring a few, the rest of them praised him for a “successful” anti-government campaign. Rahul Gandhi politely refused to intervene almost all the times but the writing on the wall was clear and that being that this time Sonia Gandhi will not let allow any dissent on Rahul Gandhi. Sachin Pilot is himself a dynast like Jyotiraditya Scindhia but his reinvention in 2014 made him get rid of the dynast tag. He reinvented himself and worked in Rajasthan where other people were sulking in Delhi. It is for this reason, he still enjoys sympathy. Life within Congress can continue as normal even if Sachin Pilot leaves, but it will impact its image badly. In the 1970s and 80s, socialists were bitter adversaries of Indira Gandhi, but they could never keep their house in order. They also sealed the image in public that they could neither run a government efficiently nor be a cohesive political unit. In this case, the continuous exit of leaders for varying reasons can reinforce the image that Rahul Gandhi cannot run the Congress properly. Sometimes perceptions become a liability bigger than the actual weight of facts and Rahul Gandhi needs to be mindful of it. By 1990s, Indians junked socialists after romanticising them for 45 years and voted for BJP as an alternative to Congress. Rest is history. Congress lost Lok Sabha elections under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership. 2024 is far away. If he cannot put the house in order, then there will be nothing to fight against with and Congress will get reduced to another Swatantra Party or Jan Sangh which neither had a say nor the way in Lok Sabha till Indira Gandhi was alive. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Congress at crossroads again

Shortly after asking the Congress to decide the new chief, Rahul Gandhi tweeted his resignation letter as party president.

"It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love. Jai Hind," he said in his tweet which also has a copy of his resignation letter.

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It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. 
 
I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love. 
 
Jai Hind 🇮🇳 <a href="https://t.co/WWGYt5YG4V">pic.twitter.com/WWGYt5YG4V</a>
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) <a href="https://twitter.com/RahulGandhi/status/1146359704815194112?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 3, 2019</a></blockquote>
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As president of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election, Rahul has said in his letter sent to the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest decision-making body. The Congress won just 52 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats in the April-May general elections.

Rahul also removed his designation as Congress president from his official Twitter handle.

Earlier on Wednesday, he had said that <a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/party-should-decide-on-the-new-congress-president-quickly-says-rahul-gandhi-232690">Congress should elect</a> a new president without any further delay.

"Party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay, I'm nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide," he told reporters.

The crisis in Congress has been going on for week as Rahul has refused to listen to calls from party leaders to reconsider his decision to resign.

On Tuesday, party workers and leaders staged a sit-in outside Congress headquarters and urged an unrelenting Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation.

Rahul Gandhi had offered to step down on May 25 at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee after party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections.

However, his offer of resignation was unanimously rejected by the CWC.

Shortly after asking the Congress to decide the new chief, Rahul Gandhi tweeted his resignation letter as party president. "It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation.

Shortly after asking the Congress to decide the new chief, Rahul Gandhi tweeted his resignation letter as party president. "It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love. Jai Hind," he said in his tweet which also has a copy of his resignation letter. It is an honour for me to serve the Congress Party, whose values and ideals have served as the lifeblood of our beautiful nation. I owe the country and my organisation a debt of tremendous gratitude and love. Jai Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/WWGYt5YG4V — Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 3, 2019 × As president of the Congress party, I am responsible for the loss of the 2019 election, Rahul has said in his letter sent to the Congress Working Committee, the party's highest decision-making body. The Congress won just 52 of the 542 Lok Sabha seats in the April-May general elections. Rahul also removed his designation as Congress president from his official Twitter handle. Earlier on Wednesday, he had said that Congress should elect a new president without any further delay. "Party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay, I'm nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide," he told reporters. The crisis in Congress has been going on for week as Rahul has refused to listen to calls from party leaders to reconsider his decision to resign. On Tuesday, party workers and leaders staged a sit-in outside Congress headquarters and urged an unrelenting Rahul Gandhi to withdraw his resignation. Rahul Gandhi had offered to step down on May 25 at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee after party's debacle in the Lok Sabha elections. However, his offer of resignation was unanimously rejected by the CWC.

Honour for me to serve Congress party: Rahul Gandhi tweets his resignation letter

Countering Maharashtra Congress Secretary Shehzad Poonawalla&#39;s allegations that election&nbsp;for the post of Congress party president is &quot;rigged&quot;, Congress Karnataka&nbsp;chief,&nbsp;Dinesh Gundu&nbsp;Rao on Saturday said Congress is the only party which conducted an election for the post of president.&nbsp;

Poonawalla had earlier sarcastically remarked that the upcoming presidential election in the Congress party was a &quot;selection&quot; rather than an &quot;election&quot;.

&quot;The upcoming Congress president election is a selection and not an election. It&#39;s a sham election process,&quot; Poonawalla had said and added that&nbsp;he had information that the delegates who would vote for party president had been appointed for their loyalty. He also suggested that there should be one ticket in one family.&nbsp;

In response to these allegations, Gundu&nbsp;Rao defended his party&#39;s&nbsp;stand and said, &quot; Congress is the only party which had polls for President.Even when Sonia Gandhi contested, Jitendra Prasad was the opponent.&quot;

The entire party wants Rahul Gandhi to become president, he said.&nbsp;

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Congress is only party which had polls for President. Even when Sonia Gandhi contested, Jitendra Prasad was opponent. Somebody asking him (Shehzad Poonawalla) to do it to create distractions. Entire party wants Rahul Gandhi to become president: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Cong K&#39;taka chief <a href="https://t.co/4lTdzpMMR5">pic.twitter.com/4lTdzpMMR5</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/936899348310274048?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2017</a></blockquote>
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The Congress Working Committee (CWC)&nbsp;on November 20 had&nbsp;passed a resolution to make Rahul Gandhi the party&#39;s president.

The party has decided to set December 16th as the date of polls &quot;if necessary&quot;. The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on December 19.

The last date of filing nominations is December 4, while December 5 is the day of scrutiny of nominations. In case there is no candidate apart from Rahul Gandhi, Congress will announce his candidature on the last date of scrutiny.

Responding?to Shehzad Poonawala's comments that claimed 'selection of Congress party president',? the party's Karnataka Chief?has come out with a defending?statement

Countering Maharashtra Congress Secretary Shehzad Poonawalla's allegations that election for the post of Congress party president is "rigged", Congress Karnataka chief, Dinesh Gundu Rao on Saturday said Congress is the only party which conducted an election for the post of president. Poonawalla had earlier sarcastically remarked that the upcoming presidential election in the Congress party was a "selection" rather than an "election". "The upcoming Congress president election is a selection and not an election. It's a sham election process," Poonawalla had said and added that he had information that the delegates who would vote for party president had been appointed for their loyalty. He also suggested that there should be one ticket in one family. In response to these allegations, Gundu Rao defended his party's stand and said, " Congress is the only party which had polls for President.Even when Sonia Gandhi contested, Jitendra Prasad was the opponent." The entire party wants Rahul Gandhi to become president, he said. Congress is only party which had polls for President. Even when Sonia Gandhi contested, Jitendra Prasad was opponent. Somebody asking him (Shehzad Poonawalla) to do it to create distractions. Entire party wants Rahul Gandhi to become president: Dinesh Gundu Rao, Cong K'taka chief pic.twitter.com/4lTdzpMMR5 — ANI (@ANI) December 2, 2017 × The Congress Working Committee (CWC) on November 20 had passed a resolution to make Rahul Gandhi the party's president. The party has decided to set December 16th as the date of polls "if necessary". The counting of votes and declaration of results will take place on December 19. The last date of filing nominations is December 4, while December 5 is the day of scrutiny of nominations. In case there is no candidate apart from Rahul Gandhi, Congress will announce his candidature on the last date of scrutiny.

'Entire party wants Rahul Gandhi to become President': Karnataka Congress chief