New Delhi: Nearly a month after he decided to step down as Congress president over his party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections, Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said he will not be involved in the process of selecting the next chief.
"I won't decide who will be the next Congress president," he said.
Gandhi had first expressed his decision to step down at a meeting of the Congress Working Committee (CWC) on May 25, two days after the Lok Sabha election results were declared. The CWC then had unanimously rejected his offer to step down. The decision has left the Congress in the lurch, with several of its senior leaders asking Gandhi to stay on.
Gandhi once again put the leadership in a tough spot after he declined to take up the mantle of Lok Sabha leader. The Congress finally picked five-time MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury for the post.
Gandhi's latest statement on Thursday has made it clear that he will not be dissuaded despite the party's insistence on maintaining the status quo.
The Lok Sabha elections saw the Congress garner 52 seats, only a marginal rise from the 44 it had managed in 2014. The Congress's dismal numbers in the Parliament meant that the party was unable to fulfil the requirements for the Leader of Opposition (LoP) post.
Gandhi himself was dealt a devastating blow when he lost the family bastion of Amethi to BJP's Smriti Irani. He, however, managed to make his way to the Parliament after winning from Kerala's Wayanad.
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