NEW DELHI/PUDUCHERRY: At a meeting Rahul Gandhi had with chief ministers of five party-ruled states on Monday, the impression the CMs got was that the Congress president had partly mellowed from his adamant stand on resigning as Congress boss.
Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy described the outcome as “Half-way through. He has agreed to think it over.”
Narayanasamy said Rahul was in a positive mood. “I cannot say whether or not he will agree to stay on. What I can say is he has mellowed down to a certain extent, otherwise he would not have spent two hours hearing us out,” he said.
“We assured to give him a free hand and support him in every possible way,” he added.
The positivity was reflected in Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot’s press briefing as well. “There was a discussion on everything and we expressed our feelings. It was a heart-to-heart talk in detail. We conveyed the sentiments of Congress workers across the country and urged him to continue to lead the party. We are hopeful he will positively agree to our request,” Gehlot told reporters.
Gehlot was flanked by Kamal Nath, Bhupesh Baghel, Capt Amarinder Singh and Narayanasamy, his counterparts from Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Puducherry, respectively.
When asked if the CMs had offered to quit, Gehlot said: “The entire CWC had resigned and authorised Rahul to make organisational changes, so the issue of resignation is resolved.”
During the meeting, the CMs took moral responsibility for the party’s defeat, with some reports suggesting they had offered to resign.
If Rahul finally refuses to relent, the party may look for a Dalit or an OBC as successor.