Congress Working Committee meeting underway to discuss poll debacle

New Delhi [India], March 13 (ANI): A meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) is underway to discuss the party's crushing defeat in Assembly elections in five states.
The meeting is being held at the party's 24, Akbar Road office in the national capital.
Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Digvijaya Singh, P Chidambaram, Harish Rawat, Anand Sharma, Jairam Ramesh and KC Venugopal are present in the meeting.

Among other top leaders present in the meet include Chhattishgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Shaktisinh Gohil, Dinesh Gundu Rao, Rajiv Shukla, Ambika Soni, Mukul Wasnik and Pramod Tewari.
Ahead of the meeting, the dissident group within the party, G23, had suggested Mukul Wasnik for the post of president of the party, which was not accepted, sources said.

Sources said, "G23, which consists of Anand Sharma, Ghulam Nabi Azad, Kapil Sibal, had suggested Mukul Wasnik's name for the post of president of the party. But it was not accepted."
The source, who is a part of G23, also said that the new party president should lead the party in the manner as was done by Sonia Gandhi in early 2000.

"Though Sonia Gandhi is the (interim) president, it is virtually (being) run by KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken and Randeep Surjewala. There is no accountability fixed on them. Rahul Gandhi is not the president. But he operates from behind the scene and takes decisions. He does not communicate openly. We are party's well-wishers and not enemies," added the source.
The results of five assembly polls came as a shock to the Congress which was hoping to do well to revive its prospects for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and to fend off the emerging challenge from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Trinamool Congress to replace it as the fulcrum of anti-BJP politics in the country. (ANI)