Disquiet in INC ranks as Rahul insists on resigning

New Delhi: Faced with a colossal electoral defeat, the Congress was on Monday riven by internal turmoil with Rahul Gandhi insisting on quitting as party president while its governments in Rajasthan and Karnataka teetered on the brink.

In the midst of the disquiet, several state Congress chiefs, including Punjab’s Sunil Jakhar, Jharkhand’s Ajoy Kumar and Assam’s Ripun Bora, also offered to resign following the party’s drubbing in the elections, party insiders said.

The Congress won only 52 out of 542 parliamentary seats in the Lok Sabha polls, just six more than its 2014 tally. The party could not open its account in 18 states and union territories.

Taking responsibility for the defeat, Gandhi on Saturday offered to resign as party president at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the highest decision-making body of the party, but it was “unanimously rejected”.

At the CWC meeting, Gandhi accused three senior leaders -Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath and P Chidambaram of placing their sons above the party. His sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said the entire top brass of the party left Rahul Gandhi alone to fight it out against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

As the party grapples with a severe existential crisis, its governments in both Karnataka and Rajasthan face a tough time with reports suggesting the BJP may try to wrest power in both states.