Rahul Gandhi’s firm no over his resignation has forced the Congress top leadership to think about the successor plan. According to the latest media reports, the Congress Working Committee is set to meet in next 72 hours to finalise the leader who will take the top job at the Grand Old Party of India. On Tuesday, various party leaders including Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Ahmed Patel met Rahul Gandhi at his official residence. An Aaj Tak report said that Gandhi is likely to continue as the president for time being.
The Congress didn’t even manage to open an account in states and Union Territories like Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Mizoram, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Andaman and Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadar Nagar Haveli, Daman Diu and Lakshadweep. The Congress won only 52 out of 542 parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha elections 2019, just six more than its 2014 tally.
In the midst of the disquiet, several state Congress chiefs, including Punjab's Sunil Jakhar, Jharkhand's Ajoy Kumar and Assam's Ripun Bora, also offered to resign following the party's drubbing in the elections, party insiders said.
According to an NDTV report, Gandhi has assured that he would give the leaders time to look for a successor and continue in the party as a "disciplined soldier".