Rahul Gandhi Monday appeared firm on his decision to step down as Congress president, plunging the party which suffered the second-worst defeat in its history into more turmoil, confusion and uncertainty.
He is said to have told the party he will continue until a suitable successor is found. Some in the party interpreted this as a sign that he may relent. Others said finding a successor is not easy given the sense of deep distrust among senior leaders.
As Gandhi remained adamant, many state Congress presidents either resigned or offered to quit to allow him to undertake a restructuring of the party. The resignations are seen as an attempt to persuade Gandhi to change his mind.
While Jharkhand PCC chief Ajoy Kumar resigned, Punjab’s Sunil Jakhar, Assam’s Ripun Bora and Maharashtra’s Ashok Chavan offered to step down. AICC treasurer Ahmed Patel and party general secretary in charge of organisation K C Venugopal met Gandhi Monday and the impression these leaders got was that he is in no mood to relent. In fact, sources said he has asked them to look for his successor. Gandhi, sources said, was open to taking over as the leader of the Congress in Parliament and then focus exclusively on rebuilding the party.
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