To fight RSS-BJP, we'll force Rahul Gandhi to become Congress President, says Mallikarjun Kharge

Rahul Gandhi would be pursued to return as Congress President as no one else in the party has a pan-India appeal, according to veteran leader M Mallikarjun Kharge.

According to the Rajya Sabha Leader of Opposition, anyone aspiring to lead the party should be well-known throughout the country and have support from Kanyakumari to Kashmir and West Bengal to Gujarat.

While talking to PTI on Friday, Kharge said, "The lead should be well-known and accepted by the entire Congress party. So nobody (in the party of such stature) is present."

He recalled how all senior leaders 'forced' Sonia Gandhi to join and work for the party and how Rahul Gandhi was asked to 'come and fight.'

"You tell me what the alternative is. Who else is there in the party besides Rahul Gandhi?" Kharge continued. 

In response to reports that Rahul Gandhi is unwilling to take the reins, Kharge stated that he would be asked to "for the sake of the party, for the sake of the country, for fighting the RSS-BJP and keeping the country united."

Kharge also mentioned the party's upcoming 'Bharat Jodo Yatra,' saying Rahul Gandhi is required for 'Jodo Bharat.'

"We're going to force, demand, and ask him (to return as Congress President). We're right behind him. According to the former Union Minister, "We will try to track him down".

On Sunday, the Congress Working Committee (CWC), the party's highest decision-making body, will hold a virtual meeting to approve the schedule of dates for the Congress president's election.

Sonia Gandhi will preside over the CWC meeting. Several leaders have publicly urged Rahul Gandhi to return to the party's helm. However, the issue remains fraught with uncertainty and suspense. According to several party insiders, Rahul Gandhi is sticking to his position that he will not be AICC president. He resigned as Congress President after the party was defeated for the second time in parliamentary elections in 2019.

Sonia Gandhi, who took over the party as interim president again, had also offered to resign in August 2020 following an open revolt by a group of leaders known as the G-23, but the CWC urged her to stay.

(With inputs from PTI)

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• Congress
• Congress President
• Congress Working Committee
• Mallikarjun Kharge
• RSS-BJP
• Rahul Gandhi
• Sonia Gandhi