Amid demand for leadership change, CWC meeting slated for tomorrow

The meeting will be convened at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, here, at 4 pm. Meanwhile, the rebel G23 leaders of Congress, who had written a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, are expected to reiterate their demand for organizational overhaul and even the leadership of Rahul Gandhi will also be questioned.

New Delhi: After facing a morale-sapping defeat in the Assembly elections in 5 states, the Congress party has called a meeting of its Working Committee (CWC) on Sunday to discuss the reasons behind its debacle.

The meeting will be convened at All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters, here, at 4 pm. Meanwhile, the rebel G23 leaders of Congress, who had written a letter to party president Sonia Gandhi, are expected to reiterate their demand for organizational overhaul and even the leadership of Rahul Gandhi will also be questioned.

Some of these G23 leaders held a meeting on Friday evening, just a day after the results of Assembly elections were announced, at former Leader of Opposition Rajya Sabha, Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence to introspect on the party's defeat.

However, it must be noted that apart from these "dissenters", there are many others within the party who have started questioning the leadership and its style of functioning. Speaking about this matter on condition of anonymity, a number of Congress members have opined that their party doesn't have a "face" that can seek votes in elections.

While speaking about the Punjab Assembly elections, a leader told ETV Bharat that it is the infighting and the lack of unity that has cost the Congress party a major defeat in such a state where it had a stronghold. The leader also opined that it is the fault of Congress leadership that failed to "control" Navjot Singh Sidhu, Punjab Congress chief, at the right time.

"It's a very depressing scenario. There was a complete lack of discipline in Punjab. The central leadership didn't take action on time, giving a free hand to Sidhu. His resignation must have been accepted by the party high command on the very same day," a Congress member said.

Another source within the party asserted, "BJP gets votes on the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AAP got people's support for Arvind Kejriwal. But what about Congress?"

Congress lost the electoral battle in Punjab to the eight-year-old party, AAP, while in Uttrakhand, Goa, and Manipur, it has failed to give even a credible fight to BJP. What must be more concerning for the party is that it has now shrunk to just two states, i.e. Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan.