Congress's Rahul Gandhi dilemma continues, loyalists mount pressure on him to take charge

With the notification of the Congress president polls just days away Gandhi family loyalists and state units have stepped up efforts to mount pressure on Rahul Gandhi to take the partys reins amid indications that he was unlikely to change his earlier stance of not being AICC chiefThe Congress units in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh the only two states where the party is in government on its own have passed resolutions that Gandhi be made the partys presidentThis comes days after the party said the Pradesh Congress Committee delegates would pass resolutions authorising the incoming Congress president to appoint state chiefs and AICC delegatesOn Sunday while passing the resolution authorising the incoming Congress president to appoint state chiefs and AICC delegates the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee CPCC also passed a resolution that Rahul Gandhi be made the partys presidentThe Rajasthan PCC passed both the resolutions on SaturdayInterestingly while other party state units are also likely to pass such resolutions the two states that have taken the lead in doing so Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh have Congress governments led by Ashok Gehlot and Bhupesh Baghel respectively who have repeatedly called on Gandhi to take on the mantle of party presidentGehlot and Baghel both are also seen as facing pressure internally to their position with Sachin Pilot and T S Singhdeo seen as aspirants to take on the job of chief ministership in Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh respectivelyWhile some political analysts see the passing of the resolutions as an initiative of Gehlot and Baghel to reaffirm their loyalty to the Gandhi family others see it as a genuine attempt to convince Rahul Gandhi to take on the party reinsGehlot had also sought to play down reports about him being the frontrunner to become the Congress president and said efforts would be made till the last moment to persuade Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party againIn June this year also the CPCC had passed a similar resolution that Rahul Gandhi should become the party presidentTalking to reporters in Raipur on Sunday Baghel said he had moved the resolution for appointing Rahul Gandhi as the partys president which was seconded by PCC chief Mohan Markam state Assembly Speaker Charan Das Mahant and ministers TS Singh Deo Shivkumar Dahariya and Premsai Singh TekamTo a query Baghel said the Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Committee on Sunday passed the resolution to make Rahul Gandhi president and the partys Rajasthan unit has also done thisAlso read Protests at Chandigarh University over alleged objectionable videos one heldIf similar resolutions are passed in other states then Rahulji should rethink over it as the partys presidential election is nearing Keeping in view the sentiments of all party workers I think Rahulji will agree to become party chief he saidAmid hectic efforts and appeals to convince him to take on the job of party president Gandhi had said earlier this month that he has made his decision on whether he would take up party presidency but did not divulge his plans asserting that he would give his reasons if he did not contest the upcoming elections for the postGandhis remarks were seen by many in the party as an indication that he might stick to his earlier stance of not taking up the party chiefs post With his cryptic remarks the suspense over who would be the next president of the grand old party had continuedAsked if he would become the Congress president he had said Whether I become president or not this will become very clear when the presidential elections of the Congress party take placeWait till that time and when that time comes you will see and if I dont stand you can ask me then why didnt you stand and I will answer the question for you Gandhi had told reporters at a press conference in KanyakumariHe however asserted that he had very clearly decided what he was going to doThere is no confusion in my mind at all Gandhi had saidAmid continued suspense and uncertainty several senior Congress leaders have also emphasized that even if Gandhi did not become the party president the Gandhi family would hold a position of preeminence in the partySenior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday favoured a consensus for the post of the AICC chief and asserted that Rahul Gandhi will always have a preeminent place in the party irrespective of whether he is president as he is the acknowledged leader of the rank and fileSenior party leader Jairam Ramesh has also batted for a consensus in selecting the new AICC chief and sought to uphold the prominence of the NehruGandhi family in the organisational matters in any sort of emerging situationHe had said even if somebody else was elected as the party chief in the October 17 polls Sonia Gandhi would continue to be a person everybody looks up to and insisted that Rahul Gandhi would be the ideological compass of the grand old organisationThe notification for the Congress presidents election will be out on September 22 and the process for filing nominations will be held from September 24 to 30The last date for withdrawal of nominations is October 8 and the election if required will be held on October 17 The results will be out on October 19This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever