Congress chief Rahul Gandhi had a stream of visitors on Tuesday, 28 May, with his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as well as Rajasthan's ruling duo Ashok Gehlot and Sachin Pilot calling on him amid rumblings of discontent in the state and his insistence on quitting following the party’s debacle in the Lok Sabha Elections.
The party's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala and general secretary KC Venugopal also met the party president at his Tughlaq Lane home. It is not immediately clear what transpired at the meetings.
Gandhi is supposed to meet his party leaders once again at 4:30 PM on Tuesday, reported NDTV. There were also reports of a likely second meeting of the grand old party's highest decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), in the next four days.
Gandhi had offered his resignation first during the Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on Saturday, but it was unanimously rejected.
All senior leaders since Saturday have been trying to convince Rahul Gandhi to take back his resignation, but he seems to be adamant about going ahead with his decision to step down as party president.
Faced with a colossal electoral defeat, the Congress has been riven by internal turmoil. As the party grapples with a severe existential crisis, its governments in both Karnataka and Rajasthan teeter on the brink with reports suggesting the BJP may try to wrest power in both states.
The Congress drew a blank in Rajasthan as the NDA won all 25 Lok Sabha seats. In Karnataka, where it formed government with the JD(S) in May last year, the Congress managed to win only one Lok Sabha seat out of 28.