Disquiet in Congress after Rahul Gandhi decision to quit as party pres

Plunged into an existential crisis with Rahul Gandhi setting the seal on his decision to resign as party president, there was disquiet in the Congress ranks on Thursday with many pushing him to change their mind as they looked anxiously at the viability of a Gandhi-free future.

A day after his candid four-page letter formally and firmly stating that he was no longer Congress president, Gandhi appeared before a Mumbai court in connection with a defamation case filed by an RSS worker. Outside, Congress workers demonstrated, clamouring for him to take back his resignation.

A smiling and confident Gandhi told reporters he willengage in the 'ideological fight' with the BJP and the RSS with 10 times more vigour than he did during the last five years.

But that did little to dispel the uncertainty in the Grand Old Party that is gripped with a leadership crisis and is struggling to get back on its feet following two successive Lok Sabha election defeats.

The Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision making body, will meet soon to resolve the issue.

The Congress party's future will be chalked out at the meeting of the Congress Working Committee, the highest decision making body of the party, which is likely to meet early next week.

"The Gandhi family is integral to the Congress. The two cannot be separated. We look forward to their guidance in the coming times," said party leader Jitin Prasada.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also refused to contemplate a Gandhi-free Congress.

"We will bounce back and Congress Party would continue to defeat the fascist forces under Rahul ji's dynamic leadership," he said, expressing the hope that Gandhi would lead the party with the "same zeal and spirit".

With assembly elections to states like Maharashtra, Jharkhand and Delhi approaching, many in the party feel the Congress has been thrust in a "blind spot".

Is it time for a Gandhi-free Congress to rise like the proverbial Phoenix from the ashes of electoral defeat, analysts and party leaders wondered