Days after Rahul's resignation, Jyotiraditya Scindia quits as Congress general secretary

Days after Rahul Gandhi officially stepped down as the Congress president, citing 2019 Lok Sabha poll debacle, party general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh West, Jyotiraditya Scindia, tendered his resignation on Sunday. Though there was no official confirmation on the development early in the day, Scindia later confirmed the news on Twitter.

"Accepting the people’s verdict and taking accountability, I had submitted my resignation as General Secretary of AICC to Shri @RahulGandhi. I thank him for entrusting me with this responsibility and for giving me the opportunity to serve our party," the tweet reads.

Accepting the people’s verdict and taking accountability, I had submitted my resignation as General Secretary of AICC to Shri @RahulGandhi.

I thank him for entrusting me with this responsibility and for giving me the opportunity to serve our party.

— Jyotiraditya Scindia (@JM_Scindia) July 7, 2019

Notably, several Congress leaders have resigned from their posts in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's resignation as Congress chief following the party's disastrous performance in the recently concluded Lok Sabha election 2019. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath resigned as the state Congress chief back in May.

Other senior leaders, who resigned from their posts, taking moral responsibility for the party's lacklustre performance in this general election, inlcude - Deepak Babaria and Vivek Tankha. However, these resignations will be accepted only after the Congress Working Commitee (CWC) appoints a new president for the party. Till then, these leaders are directed to continue on their existing posts.

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In early February, Scindia took over as the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Uttar Pradesh West with a "resolve to strengthen the party in the state", days ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Scindia's appointment was made along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was made the general secretary in-charge of Uttar Pradesh East, on January 23. 

The scion of the erstwhile royal family of Gwalior, Scindia was entrusted with the onerous task of strengthening the Congress in western Uttar Pradesh, where the party failed to bag a single seat in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. However, Scindia could not manage to bring back the lost glory of the Congress and the grand old party finished a dismal second, winning 52 out of 542 constituencies across the country.

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In what could be another big blow to the party, Scindia also conceded defeat at the family bastion Guna in Madhya Pradesh. He lost to BJP candidate KP Yadav in his traditional Guna seat by a margin of 1,25,549 votes.