Rahul Gandhi should have led Congress with dynamism and fighting spirit

Rahul Gandhi

Expressing his disappointment over Rahul Gandhi's resignation as the Congress President, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder said that Rahul should have continued to lead the party with the same dynamism and fighting spirit with which he had steered the 2019 Lok Sabha election campaign.

Reiterating that the onus of the party's defeat in the recent Lok Sabha polls did not lie on Rahul's shoulders alone, but was the collective responsibility of all the Congress leaders, Amarinder Singh said that one electoral defeat could not be taken to define the sum-total of the leadership of Rahul.

It was not fair for Rahul to hold himself accountable for a collective defeat, he added. Amarinder even gave an example where Gandhi led the party successfully in the recently concluded three-state elections which took place before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Rahul had successfully led the party to scintillating victories in three states during Assembly polls just a few months before the Lok Sabha elections. Amarinder said it was clearly a multitude of factors that caused the party's debacle in the parliamentary elections.

The BJP swept the polls on the back of their nationalist diatribe, which overshadowed the positive electioneering of the Congress-led by Rahul, he added.

Victory and defeat are part of any political party's fortunes in an electoral polity like ours, said Amarinder Singh, adding that every defeat forms the platform for the party to rise again.

"It is a difficult time for the party, but together, we will get through it, to come out stronger and bigger, with Rahul's vision continuing to guide us," he added.

Earlier in the day, Congress President Rahul Gandhi announced that he is no longer the president of the Congress party, adding that the party should decide on a new chief without delay. Gandhi took to social networking site Twitter to announce his official resignation.\

"The party should decide on the new president quickly without further delay, I am nowhere in this process. I have already submitted my resignation and I am no longer the party president. CWC should convene a meeting at the earliest and decide," Gandhi told reporters in the parliament.

Rahul also removed the tag of party President from his Twitter bio hours after confirming his resignation from the top post. The Congress changed his bio from "President of Indian National Congress" to "Member of Indian National Congress."

With inputs from IANS

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get the latest updates