In what is being seen as a result of efforts made by Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Sunday’s CWC meeting went off peacefully without any verbal attacks against the Gandhi family by the dissidents. Gehlot, in effect, proved to be a crisis manager for the Gandhis once again. It was Gehlot who met some dissenters to ensure that no fireworks took place in the CWC meeting which was called to analyse crushing defeats of the Congress in five state polls.
Using friendly relations with his colleagues, Gehlot persuaded the dissidents not to raise any issue in the CWC that could add to the embarrassment for the party. As a result, they were not aggressive while presenting their views during the meeting. According to sources, they reiterated their faith in the Congress party saying that their intentions should not be doubted. “The dissident leaders said that their views which were always in the interest of the party were misinterpreted to the extent that they were dubbed as BJP agents by some in the Congress.”
Last year, 23 dissenters had written a letter to Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi seeking organisational reforms and party polls to elect a full-time president of the Congress. Since then, this group was branded as a group of dissident leaders which was called G23. Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik from this group are members of CWC.
According to sources, the three “dissenters” in CWC said that they always suggested what could strengthen the party which has had the tradition of allowing leaders to ventilate their views openly. Wasnik pointed out that the party has been getting weak continuously since 2014 and its dwindling vote share is a matter of concern.
These leaders were lent a patient hearing in CWC and were assured of an organisational change soon. A chintan shivir (brainstorming session) will be organised. The session may take place in April at Udaipur, Rajasthan. Another CWC will be held
this month itself in Delhi.
The central leadership was under fire ever since the five state results came out in which the Congress debacle was massive. Congress has been facing a string of electoral defeats since the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. The situation has come to such a pass that only Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh are under Congress rule now.
Sources said that an outburst from dissidents was expected during the CWC. But Ashok Gehlot took charge of the strategy to handle the situation ahead of the CWC meeting. After reaching Delhi, the CM met Azad, Anand and Wasnik and told them that the party needed efforts to strengthen it and not to do anything that could damage the party further. After the three leaders agreed not to raise the contentious issues, Gehlot came on record in the media saying that the party would continue to be led by Sonia Gandhi. He also defended Rahul Gandhi saying that he is the only leader who is taking PM Modi head-on.
The indication was clear then that nothing new was going to happen in CWC. Sonia Gandhi expressed her willingness to step down from the party’s post along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, an offer that was rejected by her colleagues. The AAP’s performance did not figure during the interactions. CM Gehlot did not say anything. Now the question is whether the Congress will remove some leaders from organisational posts. At present, AICC general secretary in charge of organisation K.C. Venugopal, Randeep Singh Surjewala and Ajay Maken are under fire. All these leaders had played an important role in Uttarakhand and Punjab polls.