Congress Jodo Abhiyan: An attempt at consolidation at a time leaders head for exit

A process is on to ensure leaders like Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Shashi Tharoor are brought to the party’s centre-stage

At a time some leaders are headed for the exit, Congress is quietly doing a ‘Congress Jodo Abhiyan’ within by mainstreaming some senior leaders who were ‘sidelined’ after challenging the leadership earlier as part of the G-23.

The move comes as these leaders and the central leadership have reconciled their differences since the election for the party president in which Mallikarjun Kharge got the support of the entire G-23 barring Shashi Tharoor who contested.

Now, a process is on to ensure that leaders like Anand Sharma, Manish Tewari and Tharoor are brought to the party’s centre stage.

This is happening at a time Congress has lost some more leaders to the BJP. Leaders, however, said the latest exercise is not linked to this development.

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Tewari was given a platform at the Congress headquarters to address a press conference on April 5 on the China border issue after a gap of three years and one month. Tewari had last held a press conference at the Congress office in March 2020, months before he joined the G-23 to raise questions.

On Wednesday, veteran leader Sharma returned to the party headquarters at 24 Akbar Road to address a press conference. “The Congress Jodo Abhiyan is on. After Manish’s press conference, we have told you that more is in the offing,” a senior leader told DH.

Tharoor, who contested against Kharge and garnered over 1,000 votes, has also been given the impression that he is needed in the party. Kharge himself took Tharoor on his flight to Nagaland for campaigning, which was seen as a signal that Tharoor still remains in the scheme of things.

While it is not known yet whether Tharoor would make it to the all-powerful Congress Working Committee, sources said the party would use his services in a constructive manner. “We do not know whether he will make it to the CWC. That is for the president to decide. One thing is that he would be given responsibility,” another leader said.

Rajya Sabha independent MP Kapil Sibal, who was part of G-23 and later left the party, is also now cooperating with the party and has defended the fight against the BJP and the disqualification of Rahul Gandhi.

Sharma, Tewari and Tharoor were among the group of 23 leaders, led by Ghulam Nabi Azad who formed a new party, who criticised the Gandhis and demanded that there should be clarity about the leadership after Rahul quit as Congress president following the Lok Sabha debacle.

However, the leadership managed to neutralise the G-23 by weaning away some signatories and during the party presidential election last year, the remaining G-23 leaders decided to support Kharge leaving Tharoor to fend for himself.

At the Steering Committee meeting ahead of the Raipur Plenary Session, Sharma also did not press for an election and supported the motion to authorise the party chief to nominate the CWC.

A senior leader said there would be more such reconciliatory moves in the party.