Synopsis
It is believed that Azad will present the final proposal of the G-23 members before the party’s high command. The future of G-23 will be decided after Azad’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Agencies
Following the poll debacle of Congress in five states and a row and accountability over leadership, senior Congress leader and member of the dissident G-23 group of leaders, Ghulam Nabi Azad, is likely to meet party chief Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath on Thursday. Sources said Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will also be present at tomorrow’s meeting. Azad’s meeting with the Gandhis carries much significance amid dissatisfaction of G-23 leaders over the working style of the Congress leadership.
It is believed that Azad will present the final proposal of the G-23 members before the party’s high command. The future of G-23 will be decided after Azad’s meeting with Sonia Gandhi.
Azad hosted a number of G-23 leaders at his residence here today. Among those seen arriving at his residence included Kapil Sibal, Shashi Tharoor, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari, Mani Shankar Aiyar, PJ Kurien, Parneet Kaur, Sandeep Dikshit and Raj Babbar.
According to sources, the meeting was set to be held at the residence of Kapil Sibal, who had invited the leaders of G-23 and other parties to his residence for dinner but the venue was shifted to Azad’s residence after Sibal’s recent “attack” on the Gandhis.
According to sources, the Congress leadership is extremely unhappy with Kapil Sibal and also with Anand Sharma. A middle way can be found only after the meeting of Azad and Sonia Gandhi, said sources.
The leaders said they met to deliberate on the demoralising outcome of the recent poll results and the constant exodus of party leaders and workers. “We believe that the only way forward for the Congress is to adopt a model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels. In order to oppose the BJP, it is necessary to strengthen the Congress party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024,” the joint statement of the G-23 said.
The next steps in this regard will be announced soon, it added.
The ambit of the G-23 grouping widened this time as some more leaders – Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, former Gujarat chief minister Shankar Singh Vaghela, former Punjab chief minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Union minister Mani Shankar Aiyar, former Rajya Sabha deputy chairman PJ Kurian and former Haryana speaker Kuldeep Sharma joined the dinner meeting, besides MA Khan.
The grouping had given an open invite to other Congressmen to join them at the dinner meeting.
The sources said the meeting was convened to apprise all the G-23 members of the decisions taken at the crucial CWC meet.
Two prominent G-23 members – Azad and Sharma – were to apprise the other members of the developments at the CWC meeting and what they said on strengthening the party in the wake of its drubbing in the assembly polls, they said. The performance of the Congress in these states was poor as it failed to win any of the four BJP-ruled states – Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur – while it lost Punjab to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The sources said invitations were also extended to the Congressmen who do not constitute the bloc but feel that changes are required, including at the leadership level, to revive the party’s electoral fortunes.
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