'Congress requires Sonia Gandhi's unified leadership': Former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar

As Congress seemingly vanquished in Kerala and Assam while fared poorly in West Bengal and Puducherry, senior Party leader and former Union Minister Ashwani Kumar said on Sunday that the "chastening election results" are an SOS for the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He added that the need for demonstrable and purposive action to address the organisational and communication gaps were never more evident. 

Kumar told ANI that Congress must secure internal cohesiveness and establish an emotional connect with the people to retain its resilience and relevance in national politics. 

"The chastening election results are an SOS for the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. The need for demonstable and purposive action to address the organisational and communication gaps was never more evident. For Congress to retain its resilience and relevance in national politics it must secure internal cohesiveness and establish an emotional connect with the people. It needs to work on its messaging and accurately assess the barometer of popular sensitivities," the former Union Minister stated.

Considering the political realities of Congress at the present juncture, Ashwani emphasized the urgency of "Sonia Gandhi's unified leadership of the party. He further said, 

"The foremost task is to keep the party together through an extensive reach-out problem and to enlarge the network of political alliances while involving all leaders in rejuvenating the party." 

Rahul Gandhi congratulates Mamata Banerjee 

Despite failing to secure a single seat in Bengal, Rahul Gandhi of Congress congratulated Mamata Banerjee for defeating BJP and retaining Bengal for a third term. Congress allied with CPI(M), CPI, and ISF to contest on all 292 seats. Rahul Gandhi had campaigned sparsely in Bengal to avoid being seen with Left leaders keeping Kerala in mind. The Congress-Left-ISF had decided that Congress will contest on 92 seats, Left 165 seats, and ISF 37 seats. Despite ISF eyeing high-stakes at Nandigram seats which will see Mamata Banerjee taken on former aide Suvendu Adhikari, the Left Front fielded Minakshi Mukherjee. While Congress allied with the Left in its bid to end Mamata Banerjee's 10-year term and fight an emerging BJP in Bengal, Congress is the prime opponent against the Left government in Kerala. While it failed to win a single seat in Bengal, Congress also failed to stop Left from storming Kerala - creating history, Pinarayi Vijayan was awarded a second term.

(with inputs from ANI)