As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi enters ‘great sulk’, Modi’s BJP smells blood

The Congress president wants to step down, but his own party won’t let him. Will he go back to the political grass roots or will power be shared on a panel?

His succession dilemma is Congress’ ‘crisis for survival’, according to experts – and the ruling BJP has sensed weakness

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Rahul Gandhi, president of the Indian National Congress party. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:52pm, 5 Jun 2019Updated: 9:40pm, 7 Jun 2019

Since the Indian National Congress’ drubbing at last month’s election and the loss of his seat in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh, Rahul Gandhi has been adamant that he will quit as president of the party, his family’s political vehicle since the country’s independence.

But the Congress Working Committee – the party’s executive committee, appointed by the party president – has unanimously rejected his offer to step down. Important political allies and even influential actor Rajinikanth have joined the chorus against Gandhi’s resignation.

Gandhi has since cut communication with some leaders, including Congress grande dame Sheila Dikshit, 81, who organised a protest against his resignation. The former chief minister of Delhi was out on the Indian capital’s streets during a brutal heatwave last week, when temperatures hit 45 degrees Celsius, but Gandhi did not show despite her turning up outside his residence.

Indian media has called Gandhi’s insistence on resigning and refusal to be persuaded otherwise the “great sulk”. His seeming petulance has taken the wind out of efforts to build a credible opposition to an even-stronger Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which won 303 of the 542 contested seats, returning Prime Minister Narendra Modi to a second term in power.

Despite its drubbing, Congress remains the second largest party in the Indian Parliament; with its allies, it controls 91 seats. The party itself, however, will not stake a claim for the position of the leader of the opposition after falling three short of the required 55 seats.

Party leaders were hoping Gandhi would take over as the president of the Congress Parliamentary Party leader on June 1, but he stood by as his mother Sonia Gandhi was re-elected.

As Congress leader Rahul Gandhi enters ‘great sulk’, Modi’s BJP smells blood

The Congress president wants to step down, but his own party won’t let him. Will he go back to the political grass roots or will power be shared on a panel? His succession dilemma is Congress’ ‘crisis for survival’, according to experts – and the ruling BJP has sensed weakness

The Congress president wants to step down, but his own party won’t let him. Will he go back to the political grass roots or will power be shared on a panel?

His succession dilemma is Congress’ ‘crisis for survival’, according to experts – and the ruling BJP has sensed weakness