Some leaders of the Congress’ Group of 23 had dinner at the residence of former Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad on Wednesday to work out the group’s future strategy and discuss the party’s electoral defeat in the recently concluded assembly elections. But met.
Sources said that the group had earlier planned a dinner at Kapil Sibal’s residence, but it was changed at the last minute.
The leaders who attended the meeting included Anand Sharma, Kapil Sibal, Manish Tewari, Shashi Tharoor and Sandeep Dixit.
The scope of the G-23 group widened this time as some more leaders – Patiala MP Preneet Kaur, former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar and former Haryana President Kuldeep Sharma joined them.
The group extended open invitations to other Congressmen to attend the dinner.
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Sources said that the meeting was called to apprise all the members of G-23 about the decisions taken in the important meeting. Congress Working Committee Sunday meeting.
Azad and Sharma, two prominent members of G-23, will also apprise other members of the developments. CWC He said what he said about strengthening the party in the wake of the party’s defeat in the assembly elections in five states.
Congress performed poorly in these states as it failed to win back any of the four BJP– Governed states including Uttar Pradesh, Goa, Uttarakhand and Manipur, while it lost Punjab to AAP.
The G-23 group has been critical of the party leadership and has been demanding a change in the organisation, when they wrote a joint letter. Sonia Gandhi in 2020.
Sources said that even those Congressmen who do not constitute the block have been invited, but they feel that changes including leadership level are needed to revive its electoral fortunes.
The decision to call the G-23 meeting comes a day after Sonia Gandhi demanded the resignation of Congress presidents following the party’s dismal performance in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Manipur and Goa.
Sibal, in his latest salvo hitting out at the leadership, had said that the Gandhi family should step aside and give another leader a chance to lead the party, prompting Gandhi family loyalists to accuse him of speaking the language of the BJP and the RSS. charged up.
The G-23, however, has 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.