Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will get all-round support if she is selected to take over as Congress president, senior Congress leader and Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh said on Monday.
The chief minister, who was among the first senior Congress leaders to pitch for a youth leader to step into Rahul Gandhi’s shoes after he resigned, said Priyanka Gandhi would be the best choice to take over the party reins. But the decision, he made it clear, would depend on the Congress Working Committee, the party’s top decision-making body.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi had announced his decision to resign from the party’s top post at the CWC meeting after the Congress’ crushing defeat in the national elections in May. The party won just about 52 seats in the 545-member Lok Sabha.
Congress leaders have tried to persuade Rahul Gandhi to continue, even giving him a free hand to overhaul the party structure. But it became clear that Rahul Gandhi wasn’t going to change his mind when the 49-year-old Congress chief put out a four-page note on social media earlier this month explaining his decision.
The Congress hasn’t called a meeting of the CWC to take a call on Rahul Gandhi’s replacement yet. There have been multiple statements by Congress leaders on the vacuum at the top and the possibilities that the party leadership should explore.
Shashi Tharoor, the Kerala lawmaker, waded into this public debate of sorts over the weekend when he underlined that a lack of clarify about Rahul Gandhi’s successor was hurting the party. Tharoor hoped that Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who had the natural charisma to play the lead role, would throw her hat in the ring when elections to the party’s top post are held.
Capt Amarinder Singh, when asked about Tharoor’s assessment, said Priyanka Gandhi would be the perfect choice. The chief minister said Priyanka Gandhi was ideally suited to head the party that needed a dynamic young leader to rebuild it.
“She has the intelligence and instinct to understand and relate to the needs of the nation, and also has the courage to take on any challenge and take the fight to victory,” a statement by Capt Amarinder Singh‘s office said, quoting the chief minister.