CWC chooses Sonia Gandhi as interim chief of Congress

Congress has chosen Sonia Gandhi as its interim president after a late night meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC).

The announcement was made after CWC accepted Rahul Gandhi's resignation during its second meeting of the day.

The CWC also passed three resolutions on Rahul Gandhi's contribution as party chief, Sonia Gandhi being appointed interim chief till the AICC elects a regular president, & on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir.

The first resolution said that the CWC places on record its profound sense of appreciation and gratitude for the exceptional leadership provided by Rahul Gandhi as Congress president.

"Rahul Gandhi led the party with unbounded drive, fierce determination and dedication," another resolution said.

"Rahul Gandhi's instinctive moral compass is evident from the manner in which he has taken personal responsibility for the disappointing performance of the party in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, thereby setting new standards of accountability in public life," it said.

A third resolution on the situation in Jammu and Kashmir was also adopted by the Congress' top decision-making body, Congress general secretary organisation K C Venugopal and party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala announced.

The CWC met for the second time on Saturday evening to take a final call on the new party president after a number of leaders, including state chiefs and MPs, backed Rahul Gandhi to continue on the post despite his refusal to reconsider his resignation.

At the crucial meeting, the report of five regional groups formed for wider consultation on the issue will be placed, with sources saying there was a consensus on Rahul Gandhi continuing as party chief.

During the wider consultation process involving state PCC chiefs, Congress legislature party leaders, AICC secretaries and party MPs, only a few suggested other names while a majority of them said the party will face desertions if Rahul Gandhi does not remain the leader. Some even told Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to prevail upon Rahul to reconsider his May 25 resignation, the sources said.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi had earlier recused themselves from the consultation process saying they they could not be part of it as they have been Congress presidents in the past and would not like the opinion of the party leaders to be influenced in any manner.

The CWC decided to have consultations with leaders from across the country and it was divided into five groups for different regions -- northeast, east, north, west and south.

The CWC group for the northeast region included top party leaders such as Ahmed Patel, Ambika Soni and former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat. The group for eastern region included AICC general secretary (organisation) K C Venugopal, ex-Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi and former Union minister Kumari Selja.

The northern region group included Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Jyotiraditya Scindia and P Chidambaram. The western region group was has leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Mallikarjun Kharge, A K Antony and Motilal Vora.

The group for the southern region included Manmohan Singh, Anand Sharma and Mukul Wasnik.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, his deputy Sachin Pilot, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Puducherry CM V Narayanasamy were also part of the consultation process.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said several leaders who could not make it to New Delhi were consulted over phone.

Inputs from PTI