With several State units of the Congress in disarray after the drubbing in the Lok Sabha polls and Congress president Rahul Gandhi reportedly refusing to take back his resignation, the Tamil Nadu unit of the party that won 9 seats in T.N. and Puducherry is set to pass a resolution asking him not to step down, and to lead the party into the future with a firm hand.
The working committee of the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee will meet on Wednesday evening at the party headquarters, Sathyamurthy Bhavan, and pass a resolution stating that Mr. Gandhi should lead the Congress and bring in necessary changes.
AICC members Sirivella Prasad and the party’s In-charge for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Sanjay Dutt, will participate in the meeting.
The Tamil Nadu Congress MPs, who went to Delhi to meet Mr. Gandhi following their success in the polls, returned to Chennai on Tuesday. They could not meet the Congress president but are expected to push for his leadership in Wednesday’s meeting.
When asked why the TNCC was pushing for Mr. Gandhi to retain his leadership role despite his reported reluctance to lead the party any longer, Mr. Alagiri said, “He is the only leader the cadre of the party from Kashmir to Kanniyakumari will accept. It will be difficult to find another leader whom the cadre love so much.”
He said the leadership position cannot be given to anyone just for the sake of it. “Only those who are loved by the cadre should lead the party. Rahul is the only one who has the admiration and love of the cadre. Why should he quit because the opposition is raking it up?” he asked.