Congress is gearing up for the upcoming assembly elections in five states and Rahul Gandhi, who takes crucial decisions without a formal senior party position, is being seen as “missing from action”, a report said.
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is on a ‘personal visit’ abroad, is likely to return to India on the second week of January ahead of the high-profile assembly elections in five states this year, reported the ANI news agency. The former Congress president had embarked on the trip in December, months before the crucial state elections which are lined up for the months of February and March. Although the party did not disclose the place of his visit
Preparations of the assembly elections in five states – Goa, Manipur, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand – are already in full swing. They are being considered as a crucial test for the Congress, not only in terms of its ability to contain the BJP but also for the space as the main challenger to the ruling party at the Centre.
Among the poll-bound states, Congress is seen to have better prospects in Punjab and Uttarakhand but the situation has been complicated over a series of decisions over the past few weeks, according to the news agency. The party is witnessing infighting in both the states and Rahul Gandhi, who takes crucial decisions without a formal senior party position, is being seen as “missing from action”, the report said.
Now, the Congress leader is likely to return to the country next week and take charge of the situation himself, reports the ANI news agency, citing party functionaries familiar with the matter. According to the report, Gandhi is in touch with senior officials of the party and has taken stock of the entire electoral situation across several states.
Notably, Rahul Gandhi had earlier too travelled abroad just ahead of the winter session of Parliament and is learnt to have returned a day before the commencement of the session. Meanwhile, his foreign trips have been panned by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and other parties in a move to secure the electoral positions ahead of polls.
Mamata Banerjee, whose party is keen to emerge as the main challenger to BJP, had said taken a swipe at Rahul Gandhi and said no one can do politics by staying abroad “half the time”.
Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, however, said that Rahul Gandhi is on “a brief personal visit” and that the BJP and “its media friends” should not spread rumours unnecessarily.
