Will he, won’t he? Congress in a fix over Rahul Gandhi’s resignation

Party considers appointing working president, even as allies try to dissuade Rahul from quitting

Congress chief Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday remained unmoved on his decision to resign from the post of party president. Rahul has asked the party leadership to replace him with a leader from a non-Gandhi family. Rahul had announced his decision to quit at the Congress Working Comm­ittee meeting on Saturday. Congress leaders have been hopeful that they can persuade Rahul to relent since he is yet to send a written resignation to the CWC. His Twitter bio also continues to state that he is the president of the Congress.

Several party leaders believe Rahul, by persisting with his decision, was becoming instrumental in further shrinking his as well as the Congress’ political capital, or whatever is left of it. Leaders of the Congress’ allies — like Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad — have said Rahul quitting as party chief would be “suicidal” for his party.

As for the several alternatives discussed within the party, including putting in place a praesidium of half a dozen leaders to run the party’s daily affairs or appointing a working president, party leaders have pointed out the Congress constitution would need an amendment for this. The only previous instance of the party getting a working president was when Kamalapati Tripathi, divested of his Railway portfolio, was appointed the working president.

Leaders have suggested that if Rahul quits, so should the rest of the CWC. A new president and CWC should be elected at a Congress plenary. On Tuesday, Rahul met Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his deputy Sachin Pilot, separately. Party general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra was present during the meetings. ALSO READ: Rahul Gandhi insists on resigning, Congress considers panel to run party

The Congress is facing a minor crisis in Rajasthan with some party leaders blaming the party’s defeat in the state on the decision to appoint Gehlot and not Pilot as chief minister. Rahul is upset with Gehlot for campaigning for his son at the expense of the party.

Village in Bihar calls for poll boycott after giving chance to every party

Begusarai goes to polls on April 29 with three main candidates in fray: CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar, BJP’s Giriraj Singh and RJD’s Tanveer Hasan

Lok Sabha elections 2019: As one passes through the Barauni region in Bihar’s Begusarai, a crowd of 50-odd people can be seen standing by the side of an unpaved road. But they are not standing in the soaring heat to witness the election spectacle or catch a glimpse of a star campaigner. Shoulder-to-shoulder, each one has just one strong message to deliver to all the politicians and their cavalcade passing by: Boycott polls. Begusarai goes to poll on April 29, in the fourth phase of the Lok Sabha election, with three main candidates in fray: CPI’s Kanhaiya Kumar, BJP’s Giriraj Singh and RJD’s Tanveer Hasan.

“Can you hear us for a moment?” a group of young boys and women, belonging to Rajwara village, ask as they watch the campaign vehicles of Kanhaiya Kumar pass by. The villagers claim they haven’t seen a concrete road since the time of independence and they have to collect donations to maintain the unimproved roads. The voters of Rajwara have given a chance to all the parties in the Assembly elections since India’s independence in 1947.

Rajwara falls under the Teghra assembly constituency. First, there was an elected MLA from the Congress in 1951, followed by an independent candidate in 1957, Communist Party of India in 1962, BJP in 2010 and RJD in the latest state elections held in 2015. “I have never seen a road in this village since independence. We have given an opportunity to all parties. They come here to ask for votes and forget about us every time,” Arun Kumar, an unskilled worker in the region, says.

The problems compounded in 2016 when villagers realised Rajwara had been moved out of the Bihat nagar parishad (city council). It wasn’t a part of a gram panchayat either. “As a result, we haven’t been able to get benefits of any government schemes to build toilets, get cylinders or be a part of any housing scheme,” 27-year-old student Sanjeet Kumar said. The villagers have not been able to reap the benefits of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, PM Awaz Yojana, among other central government schemes...