State Congress leaders clamour for Priyanka as party prez gets shriller

Hyderabad: Leaders of the Congress have been vociferously demanding party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi to take over the reins of the party if Rahul Gandhi sticks to his stand on resignation.

As the Congress Working Committee would meet on August 8 to resolve the issue of party president, the leaders have been clamoring for the leadership of Priyanka Gandhi.

All India Congress Committee secretary V Hanumantha Rao made it clear that the party rank and file would not accept anyone as president of party other than a member of the Gandhi family.

He said that the leaders of the party may not follow the decisions of a president out of the Gandhi family. He said that if Rahul and Sonia did not take up the mantle, Priyanka is more suitable for the post.

Hanumantha Rao said that Priyanka with the features of her grandmother and former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi would be an ideal choice for the party president post.

He said that it would be difficult for the people to get familiar with a president of Congress out of the Gandhi family.

"In each and every village people would recognise Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka. It would be easy for them to go to the people.

A leader other than the member of Gandhi family could not bring the party on to one line. Selecting other leader for the president post would damage the interests of the party," he said.

Several leaders of the party have been expressing similar opinions. They said that in the present troubled period it would not be advisable for party to make experiments with party president post.

The senior leaders of the party, who formed Congress Loyalists Group, have written a letter recently to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi to take over the president post.

The issue of the party president has become a grave concern for the Telangana party leaders since the resignation of Rahul Gandhi as president.

They have vociferously demanded Rahul to withdraw his decision. However, Rahul did not relent even 40 days after resignation.

Party leaders said that Rahul was ill advised on resigning to the post. A senior leader said that close aides of Rahul have suggested him that he should have a new team.

Rahul should resign and force all the seniors to follow the suit so that the former AICC president could have a new team in place. But these plans have gone awry.

The Telangana Congress leaders are anxiously waiting for the outcome of the CWC meeting to be held on August 8.