A day after the formal resignation of Rahul Gandhi as the Congress president, senior Congress leaders on Thursday intensified their informal discussions on a possible replacement for Mr. Gandhi even as his sister, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, endorsed her brother’s decision. Party insiders say like Mr. Gandhi, his mother and Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) chairperson Sonia Gndhi too turned down suggestions from her party colleagues that she should involve herself in the selection of the next party chief. The Gandhi family, claimed sources, didn’t want a new Congress chief to be viewed as the family’s nominee. Deepest respect for your decision.”Mr. Gandhi’s decision to go public also prompted former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat to follow in his footsteps. He tweeted that he had stepped down as the party’s general secretary in-charge of Assam for the poor showing in the State.

Source: The Hindu July 04, 2019 17:03 UTC