The group of 23 leaders of the Congress are set to meet again on Thursday evening, making it the second meeting in the past 24 hours. The meeting comes after Rahul Gandhi reached out to the party’s “rebel” group through former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, who is a member.
Only a few members of the G23 will be congregating at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad’s residence. Hooda and former minister Kapil Sibal were seen arriving at Azad’s home for the meeting. Earlier, the G23 had said it “did not have faith” in Rahul Gandhi, while staying firm in its demand for a change in leadership.
After a meeting on Wednesday, which was held to deliberate on the party’s poll debacle in five states, the G23 had said the only way forward for the Congress was to adopt a model of “collective and inclusive leadership and decision making”.
Shankar Singh Vaghela, a G23 member who was present at Wednesday’s meeting, called for a revamp in the organisational structure, and said the group did not have faith in Rahul Gandhi. “We don’t have faith in Rahul Gandhi… New leadership should come in. We want betterment of Congress. Other leaders will join us soon,” Vaghela told News18.
Earlier, Rahul met Hooda and sources privy to the happenings in the G23 faction said the two-time CM conveyed to the Congress scion that they were not in favour of splitting the party.
The G23 leaders have long demanded an organisational overhaul and change in the party’s leadership. A joint statement by G23 read, “We the following members of the Congress Party met to deliberate on the demoralising outcome of the recent results of the assembly elections and the constant exodus of both our workers and leaders.”
“We believe that the only way forward is for the Congress to adopt the model of collective and inclusive leadership and decision making at all levels,” it added.
“In order to oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP], it is necessary to strengthen the Congress Party. We demand the Congress party to initiate dialogue with other likeminded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024 and the next steps in this regard will be announced soon,” it mentioned.
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