New Delhi: Faced with consecutive losses in state Assembly polls, the Congress party's purported decision to finally pass on the mantle to Rahul Gandhi as party president should not come as much of a surprise. After all, he has been a leader waiting in the flanks for long, considering that the grand old party cannot afford to think beyond the Gandhi family that gave the country three prime ministers.
However, there are signs that the party may not be completely sure of Rahul's elevation just yet. According to sources, there are two schools of thought that are running in the Congress' house. While one wants 45-year-old Rahul to be given a free hand, the other wants Sonia to continue as she has been a binding force in the Congress ranks.
Among those who want Sonia to continue as party chief include senior leaders such as Ahmed Patel, Janardan Dwivedi, Digvijay Singh, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik, Mohan Prakash, Gulam Nabi Azad and Anand Sharma.
On the other hand, the camp that favours Rahul's elevation as the Congress president include C P Joshi, Veerapa Moily, Jairam Ramesh, RPN Singh, Sachin Pilot, Milind Deora, Shakeel Ahmad and Madhusudan Mistry.
Faced with voices of dissent within the party and rising calls for a shuffle in ranks, sources said Rahul’s elevation could come as early as within this month.
As per the sources, the development may be announced at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) within ten days where he will anointed to the top post, replacing his mother Sonia Gandhi who has been heading the party since 1998.
Sources also said Rahul’s elevation will be accompanied by a major organisational shake-up during the CWC. It is expected that older party functionaries will be asked to step down and make way for new faces.
If sources are believed, Rahul has also submitted a list to Sonia mentioning the name of leaders he would like to have in his team. Sources also said that all general secretaries will be asked to resign during the CWC meeting, paving way for Rahul to choose his own team.
At least 20-22 news faces are likely to be given news responsibilities in the upcoming meet, they said.
Several senior party leaders have been calling for changes within the party line, especially after the poor show in recently concluded assembly polls in Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
The latest in the series was Punjab Congress leader Amarinder Singh who unequivocally said that it was time for Rahul to take over.
Speaking to India TV, Amarinder said that Sonia Gandhi wants to demit and pass on the responsibility to new generation.
“Soniaji herself told me that she wants to step down. She feels that she has done enough work and time has come to pass on the responsibility to next generation,” he said.
“New generation has emerged and Rahul Gandhi can take charge now. Although no one in party says that Sonia Gandhi should leave but Soniaji herself told me that she had worked enough for the party,” he added.
Before him, senior leaders like Digvijay Singh and Kaml Nath had publically called for change in guard.
The 45-year-old leader’s elevation, if happened, will also bring an end to a debate on the ‘perfect timing’ for his anointment to the top of the country’s grand old party.
The much-needed change in the party is followed by a series of defeats including 2014 general elections.
"Today's results (Assembly poll results) disappointing but not unexpected. We have done enough introspection, shouldn't we go for a Major Surgery?" Congress leader Digvijaya Singh had tweeted soon after the assembly poll results of five states were announced last month.
