The Congress high command is extremely unhappy with the dissenters of G-23, which is led by veteran party leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, showcasing their strength at a function in Jammu on 27 February. These dissenters used the function organised by the NGO Gandhi Global Family to send out a strong message to the high command.
On the first day, an invite carrying a picture of Azad wearing a saffron turban came up. J&K PCC distanced itself from his visit. This was followed by all the leaders of G-23 sporting saffron turbans during the function in Jammu in what is being seen as a message to the Congress high command. To add to it, they did not put up any picture of any member of the Gandhi family in the backdrop. However, at the same time, they spoke about strengthening the Congress party.
In sharp contrast to this, pictures of all the dissenters were put up on stage during another event organised by the Gujjar Charitable Trust. It was during this programme that Azad praised PM Modi. However, he avoided speaking anything on internal party matters directly before the media.
The high command is said to be in a dilemma over how to deal with this internal battle which has intensified as the Congress seems to be headed for a split.
At the same time, the leaders of the G-23 faction may face the music for what they did during their Jammu event. However, direct action against them is not expected any time soon as the party does not want to give the BJP any chances to derive any political mileage out of the situation ahead of the Assembly elections.
However, the high command is offended by all that happened at the Jammu event. What has hurt the high command most is that Azad showered praise on Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a time when Rahul Gandhi is targeting him over one issue after the other.
Secondly, the dissenters’ “show of strength” has come at a time when five key state elections have been announced. The party has said that these leaders should have been in the poll-bound states.
The party is not initiating any action against these leaders now in view of the upcoming elections, but it might do so against some of the dissenters in the future. Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi gave an indication for that too.
Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has already cautioned them on some occasions in the past. It was Gehlot who had defended the Gandhi family in the CWC, asking the dissenters not to raise questions like that. Gehlot had said that they were doing so while the party gave them a lot. The Rajasthan CM had also said that the leaders who are seeking organisational elections have never ever won any polls. Singhvi had also said that the leaders who are now creating such a situation within the party became MPs and CMs just because of the Congress.
Reportedly, the disgruntled leaders have decided to visit other states. They are targeting Rahul Gandhi.
At the same time, other leaders of the Congress have accepted Rahul Gandhi as their leader who will, according to them, be the prime ministerial candidate. Gehlot has claimed that people are fed up with the Modi government and are inclined towards Rahul Gandhi now.
According to sources, the party is actually unhappy with Azad, Anand Sharma and Kapil Sibal. However, the Congress is moving cautiously, thinking that tough action against any leader now will give the BJP a chance to cash in on the rift. Moreover, it is not easy to act against senior leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Raj Babbar and Vivek Tankha. Leaders like P. Chidambaram, Shashi Tharoor and Mukul Wasnik are also said to be supporting the dissenters.
In addition, the leaders of G-23 are making their move in such a manner that they cannot be branded as rebels straight away.
The high command has an uphill task to keep the party united now. The strength of the disgruntled leaders will only go up if the Congress does not perform well in the elections.