Fmr EAM from Manmohan Singh's Cabinet meets PM Modi at his residence at Lok Kalyan Marg

Former Congress leader K Natwar Singh, a minister in Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh's cabinet, met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday and discussed a broad spectrum of issues, as per sources. The former Congress leader is learnt to have discussed the political situation prevailing in India among other issues including India's role in the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. as per sources. The meeting between the two leaders took place at 7 Lok Kalyan Marg, PM Modi's residence, as per sources. 

Exodus in Congress

It is pertinent to note that many Congress leaders have expressed displeasure in the manner in which candidates have been chosen by the party for upcoming polls in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Earlier, former Congress MP PC Chacko announced his exit from all positions in Congress accusing the party of not being able to maintain democracy. Detailing on what catalyzed his exit from the grand old party, PC Chacko alleged that candidates were not selected by Congress on the basis of winnability and claimed that only one or two persons were involved in the selection of candidates. Following Chacko's exit, another Congress leader from Kerala Vijayan Thomas also announced his decision to quit the party on Friday and joined the BJP.

Youth Congress wants Rahul Gandhi as president

Meanwhile, the national executive of the Indian Youth Congress had passed a resolution on Monday demanding Rahul Gandhi to be named as the party's president. The Youth Congress' resolution comes amid challenges issued to the present Congress leadership under the Gandhis, with several party leaders seeking fresh elections. Citing 'the prevailing situation in India', the Youth Congress nonetheless backed Rahul Gandhi to take over the reins of the party once again.

Rift within Congress

In a letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi on August 23, 2020, 23 senior party leaders observed that the uncertainly over the leadership and the drift in the party have weakened Congress and demoralized the workers. The letter reportedly mentioned many suggestions such as the need for a full-time leadership available at the national and state headquarters, conducting elections at all levels including the Congress Working Committee and state level, the formation of an Independent Election Authority, and institutional leadership mechanism to guide the party's revival.

Despite the high-octane drama at the CWC meeting, it was decided that the Rae Bareli MP will continue as the interim president at least until the next AICC session is convened. But the concerns were reiterated by Congress leaders such as Kapil Sibal, P Chidambaram and Ghulam Nabi Azad after the loss in the Bihar Assembly election. Far from addressing concerns, the CWC in January stated that the election to the post of party president will be held only after the conclusion of the Assembly polls in Assam, Puducherry, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.

The internal rift in the party widened after dissenting leaders such as Ghulam Nabi Azad, Anand Sharma, Raj Babbar, Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Kapil Sibal and Manish Tewari addressed a joint rally in Jammu on February 27. On this platform, concerns were raised about the weakening of the Congress party. Moreover, Azad faced protests from the Congress cadre for praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In another sign of assertion by these leaders, Sharma publicly admonished Congress for stitching an alliance with the Indian Secular Front for the West Bengal polls.