Rahul Gandhi Says No, Congress Set for Non-Gandhi Chief: Sources

Even in election week, the stalemate over who will be the next Congress chief shows no signs of a breakthrough.

The latest efforts to sway Rahul Gandhi to accept the role have been fruitless, sources have told NDTV. He has been steadfast in his reluctance, turning down the appeals by his party members since resigning after the 2019 general election debacle.

Sonia Gandhi too has ruled out returning as President because of her health.

That has shifted the focus to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as most members of the 137-year-old outfit are still keen on rallying around a Gandhi, sources said. But her disastrous record in this year's Uttar Pradesh elections weighs on the minds of many.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, 71, is among some names being considered for Congress chief, sources said, which means the new party president could be a non-Gandhi for the first time since 1998.

Confounded by the lack of a consensus, the schedule for the Congress's presidential election due to start today is clouded by uncertainty. The party has not officially commented on the gridlock.

"Yes, he (Rahul Gandhi) has said he is not interested, but we are working on him and requesting him to take over. He will have to tell us then how this post will be filled," Congress veteran Bhakta Charan Das told NDTV.

Rahul Gandhi, however, continues to lead the Congress's campaign against the government. He is set to address a massive rally in September and will start the "Bharat Jodo Yatra" from Kanyakumari.

"Yes, we are organising a rally and Rahul Gandhi will be leading. We are not sure of presidential elections, though," former Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda said.

The Congress party's leadership crisis has been simmering for years and has only worsened with its back-to-back election defeats and string of exits by high-profile leaders.

In March, Sonia Gandhi in her speech to senior leaders at a meeting to discuss the party's assembly election defeats had offered to resign along with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. However, she was persuaded to stay on till the elections.

Around a mega meeting in Udaipur in May, where the Congress discussed detailed strategies for a revival, the Congress committed to a timeline to hold the elections for a new chief, staving off growing calls for a radical overhaul by its group of dissidents dubbed the "G-23".

Whoever is elected Congress President will face the Herculean task of leading the party into the 2024 elections for its third clash against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's BJP, two of which it has lost.