Days after the Congress party's top decision-making body reaffirmed faith in the Gandhi family despite humiliating defeats in the recent elections, a group of Congress leaders held a meeting.
Many of the leaders who met at Ghulam Nabi Azad's house in Delhi reportedly belonged to the group informally called 'G23'. In 2020, they had written to Sonia Gandhi seeking sweeping changes in the party's organisation and functioning.
After their latest meeting, the Congress leaders issued a short statement. It spoke about the "demoralising outcome" in the recent polls, and the "constant exodus" of leaders and workers. The leaders said, "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."
The leaders also called for discussions with other "like-minded forces to create a platform to pave the way for a credible alternative for 2024". The statement ended with the pregnant phrase - "the next steps in this regard will be announced soon".
The statement bore the names of Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chavan, Manish Tewari, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Raj Babbar, Shankar Singh Vaghela, Manishankar Aiyer, Shashi Tharoor, PJ Kurian, MA Khan, Rajender Kaur Bhattal, Sandeep Dixit, Kuldeep Sharma, Vivek Tankha, and Preneet Kaur.
Days earlier, at the Congress Working Committee, or CWC meet, Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka Gandhi had reportedly offered to step down, but were persuaded not to do so.
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