Congress on Wednesday said that Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will remain Leader of the party in Lok Sabha for the monsoon session of Parliament. This comes days after certain reports claimed that Congress is likely to replace Chowdhury as the leader of the opposition in the Lok Sabha.
"There is no change in the post of Leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha party at present. In this session, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury will remain the Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha," sources from the Congress party told news agency ANI.
Meanwhile, sources told ANI that Congress interim chief, Sonia Gandhi, had also connected online during the meeting with Prashant Kishor.
Election strategist Prashant Kishor met former Congress President, Rahul Gandhi, at his residence in Delhi. AICC general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi Vadra (Uttar Pradesh) and KC Venugopal (organisation) were also present at the meeting.
"Congress interim chief Sonia Gandhi was also connected online during the meeting of Prashant Kishor, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, KC Venugopal was also present. The meeting lasted about 1 hour. Prashant Kishor had asked for an appointment," sources from the Congress party told ANI.
They said that there were no talks about the Punjab Congress controversy. "There was no talk about the Punjab Congress controversy, though Prashant Kishor discussed the prospects of Congress in the upcoming assembly elections. There was no discussion about pushing Sharad Pawar for president post (from UPA)," sources told ANI.
Kishor has recently held talks with NCP chief Sharad Pawar leading to speculation that he was helping build a larger opposition front to take on the BJP in the next cycle of assembly elections and later in the 2024 general elections.
The meeting with Kishor, who is Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh's principal advisor, also came in the backdrop of ongoing discussions on a likely revamp of the party's state unit, but AICC general secretary Harish Rawat said that "Kishor did not come to negotiate on the Punjab issue."
(With inputs from Agencies)