Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has clarified that reports claiming Rahul Gandhi has resigned as party president are inaccurate.
Top party leaders from across the country on Saturday got together to review the Lok Sabha poll drubbing, as the party's highest decision-making body met in Delhi.
The Congress Working Committee(CWC) meeting, chaired by Congress president Rahul Gandhi, is being attended by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, chief ministers of party-ruled states and other top leaders from across the country.
Senior leader and former Union minister P. Chidambaram was also present in the meeting alongside his party colleagues including A.K. Antony, Ahmed Patel, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Sheila Dikshit, Mallikarjun kharge, Ambika Soni, Anand Sharma and Jyotiraditya Scindia.
The meeting will go into the reasons behind the party's defeat and discuss why as to its poll narrative failed to convince the people to vote in its favour.
Here are the LIVE updates:
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Kamal Nath, who is a special invitee to the CWC in his capacity as a chief minister, has skipped the meeting. There are reports that Nath's government, which has the support of two BSP MLAs, an SP legislator and 3 independents is currently under threat from the BJP.
A section of Congress leaders in Madhya Pradesh has blamed Nath for the poll debacle in the state. The leaders say that Nath spent most of the time campaigning for his son, Nakul Nath, in Chhindwara. Nakul is the lone elected parliamentarian from the state.
- Congress media cell chief Randeep Singh Surjewala has, however, maintained that reports of Rahul's resignation offer are incorrect. Sources say Rahul is yet to address the meeting though several CWC members have said that his resignation is not the solution.
- If it accepts Rahul's resignation, the big complication for the CWC will be that it will have to accept resignations of practically every PCC president and CM, with the exception of Amarinder Singh and Sunil Jakhar from Punjab and Mullapally Ramachandran in Kerala.
- Various state in-charges, PCC presidents have said they take full responsibility for the party's defeat. They have asserted that Rahul led from the front and put in his best to take on Modi.
- Congress president Rahul Ganhdi has offered to resign but CWC members, as expected, have rejected it. They want him to fight on. The CWC meeting is still underway.
- Senior party leaders including Congress President Rahul Gandhi, former PM Manmohan Singh, former President Sonia Gandhi are at the meeting which has been underway for over an hour.