Congress leader say Priyanka Gandhi should fill the leadership void in the party.
With the Congress facing uncertainty after Rahul Gandhi's resignation as party chief, voices within are growing in favour of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra leading the party in critical times.
Former lawmaker Abhijit Mukherjee, son of ex-president Pranab Mukherjee, made an open plea in favour of Priyanka Gandhi, saying she should not ignore the "clarion call of lakhs of Congress workers" across the country to take over the party.
Former Union minister and senior Congress leader Anil Shastri said Priyanka Gandhi is the best person to lead the party at this time and the AICC should elect her as the new Congress chief in the wake of Rahul Gandhi's insistence on quitting the post.
"Now that Rahul Gandhi is firm on his resignation as Congress President, it is the question of party's existence. And, if the party has to survive we have to have a President at the earliest. There can't be a better person to lead the Congress than Priyanka Gandhi and let the AICC elect her," Mr Shastri said on Twitter.
The Congress is yet to decide on its new president after Rahul Gandhi made his resignation public, taking moral responsibility for the party's Lok Sabha poll debacle.
Abhijit Mukherjee said the party is facing an existential crisis and Priyanka Gandhi should take over its reins and change its fortunes. She will drive it back to a landslide victory like her grandmother Indira Gandhi did, he said.
Agreeing with the views of these leaders, former Union minister Shriprakash Jaiswal also made a strong pitch for Priyanka Gandhi taking charge as party president. "She should command the party at this critical times. She is capable and can lead the party," the Congress leader from Uttar Pradesh said.
Congress leader from Odisha Bhakt Charan Das said a large number of party workers are demanding that she should take over after Rahul Gandhi has decided to resign.