Signs of a thaw have emerged as Congress looks to elect a new chief in the New Year. (FILE)
New Delhi:
A group of 23 Congress “rebels” who wrote a letter flagging a leadership drift and calling for sweeping organizational changes may finally get to meet with Sonia Gandhi. Former Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Kamal Nath was key to setting up the meeting, sources say.
In addition to Sonia Gandhi, her son Rahul may also be at the meeting over the weekend, Congress sources say, in moves towards reconciliation.
Kamal Nath, say sources, has backed the cause of the so-called dissident leaders, who had expressed concern over the party’s downslide and called for an “active and present leadership”.
Kamal Nath, who lost power in Madhya Pradesh following senior leader Jyotiraditya Scindia’s defection to the BJP, played a role in persuading the Gandhis to meet the letter writers, sources say.
Recently, a rebellion threatened to flare up again after the Congress’s abysmal performance in the Bihar election. Kapil Sibal, one of the letter writers, went public with his anger saying “the time for introspection is over”. After him, other party leaders like P Chidambaram also called for a “comprehensive review” and suggested that the party needed to strengthen its core.
Signs of a thaw have emerged as the Congress looks to elect a new chief in the New Year. Sonia Gandhi has been interim President since Rahul Gandhi quit last year over the Congress’s second successive national election defeat.
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