Wayanad bypoll: Low voter turnout dampens Congress spirits
Political observers say that the massive turnout of crowd during the campaigns of Priyanka in the constituency is not reflected in the polling.
With the announcement made by Congress President Rahul Gandhi to step down from the party’s top post following the dismal showing in the general elections, the clamour from within the party has been growing on, urging him to withdraw his offer to resign.
Sheila Dikshit, the former Chief Minister of Delhi, and hundreds of Delhi Congress workers, would be gathering outside the residence of Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday late afternoon to appeal to him to withdraw his offer to step down and continue to lead the party, said the sources, adding that they will be assembling around 4 pm.
“We are going to be near the residence of Rahul Gandhi, will demonstrate there to convey our feelings that he should not resign. The Party will suffer a very heavy loss which we don’t want. We are going there to plead with him to not do this,” ANI quoted Sheila Dikshit as saying.
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Reports from Bengaluru say that scores of Congress workers demonstrated outside the party office on Wednesday morning urging Rahul Gandhi to continue as Congress president.
Rahul Gandhi had conceded defeat in the Lok Sabha elections 2019 on May 23 at a press conference in New Delhi (the day votes were being counted and results were announced), even before the official results were announced by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
On Saturday, May 25, Rahul had requested to step down but the Congress Working Committee (CWC) rejected it.
“The Congress president offered to resign but CWC leaders unanimously refused to entertain it and requested him to lead the party in these challenging times. The CWC also requested the president for a complete overhaul and restructuring of the party at every level,” said the party on Saturday.
Senior Congress leader, Randeep Singh Surjewala, had read a statement issued by the CWC in which the party said that Rahul was requested to continue at the helm “in these challenging times”.
Rahul lost to BJP’s Smriti Irani from Uttar Pradesh’s Amethi, the seat considered to be the party’s stronghold for decades.
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