New Delhi: The Congress is set to get a non-Gandhi president after a gap of 24 years but the recent turn of events showed that both Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi will continue to hold unparalleled influence in the organization. “You cannot separate the Nehru-Gandhi family from the Congress. They have done so much for the party and have even sacrificed their lives for it.
Every party worker looks up to the Gandhi family for leadership and will continue to do so,” AICC general secretary JP Agarwal told ETV Bharat. “I can say with confidence that even today 99.99 percent of the Congress workers want Rahul Gandhi to become the party chief. However, in the present situation whoever gets elected will be the next party chief,” he said.
The remarks of the veteran Delhi leader came as it became clear that the contest for the next Congress president would be between Rajya Sabha MP Digvijay Singh and Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot withdrew from the race on Thursday after the Sunday fiasco in which over 90 MLAs loyal to him staged a revolt against the high command’s plans to push a change of guard.
Both Singh and Tharoor will file their nomination papers on September 30. The voting will take place on October 17 and the results will be out on October 19. According to the former MP, Sonia’s contribution to the party has been immense. “She not only led the party from the front but brought the Congress to power in 2004 and again in 2009. At that time, we had governments in around 15 states,” said Agarwal.
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The veteran further noted that even after the party lost power in 2014, Sonia led the Congress and kept it united. “It was not easy to lead the party after 2014 but she did it successfully. She led the party’s battles against the BJP and stood against the central government like a rock,” said Agarwal, adding, “now Rahul is playing that role by leading the nationwide Bharat Jodo Yatra.”
The senior AICC general secretary expressed the confidence that though the Gandhis will continue to hold influence across the party, they would accord due respect to the new party president and let the person work 'independently'. “I am sure the Gandhi family would respect the new party chief and the person would be able to work independently,” said Agarwal.
The last time a non-Gandhi headed the party was in 1997 when Sitaram Kesri was elected as Congress chief against Rajesh Pilot and Sharad Pawar. However, Kesri’s leadership was uninspiring and led to factional fights within the party. In the backdrop of this, several leaders including Digvijay Singh and Ashok Gehlot urged Sonia Gandhi, who was reluctant to join active politics, to take over the reins of the party to save the Congress from decline.
Sonia became party chief in 1998 and was elected president in 2000 against Jitendra Prasada. Since then, she worked hard to regroup the party and brought the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance to power in 2004, defeating the then NDA government led by Atal Behari Vajpayee. Sonia neutralised the BJP’s campaign over her foreign origin issue by nominating her confidante Manmohan Singh as prime minister.
The Sonia-Manmohan combo leadership led to the second consecutive win of the UPA in 2009. However, in 2014, the UPA was voted out of power when PM Modi came to power at the centre. In 2017, Sonia Gandhi passed on the baton to her son Rahul Gandhi, who took moral responsibility for the party’s defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and resigned.
Also read: Congress prez polls: Digvijay's entry signalled Gehlot's exit
Since then, Rahul has refused to become the party president saying it was time for a non-Gandhi to steer the party. According to veteran Shakeel Ahmed, who was a minister in the UPA government and later worked as an AICC general secretary, the Gandhis are the ideological compass of the Congress and will continue to have special position in the grand old party.
“See, Rahul Gandhi decided to stay away from the top party post in his own wisdom. We all should respect that decision. The party is set to get a non-Gandhi president but the Gandhis will continue to be the ideological compass of the Congress,” Ahmed told ETV Bharat. The former MP further said that “the new party chief would manage the day-to-day affairs of the party but the person should take guidance from the Gandhis over policy issues.
“The Gandhis have a broad view of issues. During the UPA, while then prime minister Manmohan Singh was running the government, the landmark legislations like the RTI Act, MGNREGA, Land Acquisition Act, Food Security Act, were all designed by the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi with active involvement of Rahul Gandhi,” said Ahmed.
According to the veteran, the way Sonia Gandhi mobilised people against the then ruling NDA and brought back Congress to power is still a guide book for party leaders. “We were in opposition and struggling just like we are doing now. Soniaji led us then and brought Congress to power. Rahulji is now leading the nationwide yatra and will defeat the BJP in 2024,” said Ahmed.
