Churn in Congress: G23 Meet Underway Over Poll Losses; Tharoor, Manishankar Aiyar Also Attend
The meeting of the group of 23 is taking place at senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence. (Image: PTI/File)
The G23 has called for an organisational overhaul in the Congress since before the assembly elections.
- News18.com
- Last Updated:March 16, 2022, 21:02 IST
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A day after Sonia Gandhi asked Congress chiefs of five states to resign over the poll debacle, the group of 23 leaders are holding a meeting. New additions to the growing list of dissenters within the party include Kerala MP Shashi Tharoor, senior leader Manishankar Aiyar and Patiali MP Preneet Kaur. The G23 meeting is being held to discuss the party's poll debacle in the five states.
The meeting is taking place at senior leader Ghulam Nabi Azad's residence in Delhi. The G23 has called for an organisational overhaul since before the assembly elections.
According to sources, leaders present at the meeting are Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari, senior leaders Kapil Sibal, Prithviraj Chauhan, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, Anand Sharma, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, new members Mani Shankar Aiyar, Preneet Kaur and Shashi Tharoor. Leaders PJ Kurien, Sandeep Dixit, Shankar Singh Vaghela, Raj Babbar, Kuldeep Sharma, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal are among others attending the meeting.
The G23 leaders are meeting to discuss the situation in the party in the aftermath of the devastating loss in the assembly elections and the endorsement by the Congress Working Committee of Sonia Gandhi's continuance as president.
According to sources, the new members were invited as the bloc felt that those who feel changes are required must also be given a chance to voice their concerns.
Kapil Sibal, in his latest salvo targeting the leadership had said the Gandhis should step aside and give some other leader a chance to helm the party, provoking a backlash from Gandhi family loyalists who accused him of speaking the language of the BJP and RSS.
"Leadership is in cuckoo land I want a 'Sab ki Congress'. Some want a 'Ghar ki Congress'," Sibal told The Indian Express in an interview.
The G23 has, however, got weakened over time with senior leader M Veerappa Moily distancing himself from the group, Jitin Prasada joining the BJP, and Mukul Wasnik not attending its meetings in recent times.
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