New Delhi: After a humiliating defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, top Congress leaders will deliberate on party losses at a meeting of the Congress working committee (CWC) slated Saturday where party chief Rahul Gandhi is likely to offer his resignation. The meeting is likely to take place 11.00am onwards.
It should be mentioned here that when Rahul had the media Thursday evening, he had been asked whether he would step down as the Congress chief as he was taking responsibility for the debacle. Rahul had then said ‘if the party so deems it I may do so’. Party sources however, said that even before the discussion starts, Rahul may offer his resignation.
The top Congress leadership will deliberate on the reasons of the humiliating loss in Lok Sabha elections and assess them. The party suffered a loss for the second time in a row at the hands of the Narendra Modi-led BJP. The Congress finished with only 52 seats in this election.
Top party leaders, including UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, are expected to attend the meeting. There have already been voices within to introspect on why the party failed to reach out to the people.
Meanwhile, sources said that Rahul may face a backlash from party members over the debacle.
“If they want to change anything, change the leadership,” said a Congress official in the western state of Rajasthan, referring to the old guard around Rahul. “You need to give young people a chance.”
He was among the five current and three former party officials who told this agency that Rahul’s inability to jettison older leaders is responsible for a major debacle in the 2014 general election and push forward newer, younger faces was a mistake. All eight sources sought anonymity.
PTI