Will he, won't he? Congress in a fix over Rahul Gandhi's resignation

Party considers appointing working president, even as allies try to dissuade Rahul from quitting

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday remained unmoved on his decision to resign from the post of party president. Rahul has asked the party leadership to replace him with a leader from a non-Gandhi family.

Rahul had announced his decision to quit at the Congress Working Comm­ittee meeting on Saturday. Congress leaders have been hopeful that they can persuade Rahul to relent since he is yet to send a written resignation to the CWC. His Twitter bio also continues to state that he is the president of the Congress.

Several party leaders believe Rahul, by persisting with his decision, was becoming instrumental in further shrinking his as well as the Congress’ political capital, or whatever is left of it. Leaders of the Congress’ allies — like Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad — have said Rahul quitting as party chief would be “suicidal” for his party.

As for the several alternatives discussed within the party, including putting in place a praesidium of half a dozen leaders to run the party’s daily affairs or appointing a working president, party leaders have pointed out the Congress constitution would need an amendment for this.

The only previous instance of the party getting a working president was when Kamalapati Tripathi, divested of his Railway portfolio, was appointed the working president. 

Leaders have suggested that if Rahul quits, so should the rest of the CWC. A new president and CWC should be elected at a Congress plenary.

On Tuesday, Rahul met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot, separately. Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was present during the meetings.

The Congress is facing a minor crisis in Rajasthan with some party leaders blaming the party’s defeat in the state on the decision to appoint Gehlot and not Pilot as chief minister. Rahul is upset with Gehlot for campaigning for his son at the expense of the party.

Congress leaders K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala also met Rahul. Congress leader and former Rajya Sabha member Pramod Tiwari after meeting Rahul said: “Instead of resigning, he should seek resignations of leaders at all levels and restructure the party.”

Former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit requested Rahul to withdraw his resignation. Ally DMK’s chief M K Stalin spoke to Rahul over the phone and asked him to rethink, a DMK press statement said. Prasad said Rahul’s decision would amount to "falling into the BJP's trap”.

Prasad pointed out in his analysis of the Lok Sabha polls results in The Telegraph that “the moment someone else beyond the Gandhi-Nehru family replaces Rahul, the Narendra Modi-Amit Shah brigade will paint the new leader as a ‘puppet’ remote-controlled by Rahul and Sonia Gandhi. They will play on till the next general election. Why should Rahul give such an opportunity to his political detractors?”

According to the Congress constitution, in the event of an emergency, like the death or resignation of the party president, the senior-most general secretary will discharge the routine functions of the president until the CWC appoints a provisional president. 

Party sources said it was unlikely that the party workers would agree to a non-Gandhi as their leader, which could lead to demands for Rahul to come back at the party session to ratify the appointment and become embarrassing for whoever replaces Rahul for the interregnum.

While the constitution empowers the CWC to take any decision in the interest of the party, it is required to get decisions beyond its remit ratified by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) at the earliest or within six months. 

The CWC is the final authority in all matters regarding interpretation and application of provisions of the party’s constitution.

Party sources said there was also an effort to convince Rahul to lead the Congress parliamentary party or be its leader in the Lok Sabha. After Rahul offered to quit on Saturday, the CWC had rejected his appeal and authorised him to overhaul and restructure the party at all levels.

Congress’ Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor said Rahul was the best person to pull the Congress out of its predicament.