Sonia Gandhi is poised to retain her position as Chairperson of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP), with an expected re-election at a meeting gathering party MPs from both the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on Saturday evening.
As reported by ANI, citing party sources, “With Congress to decide the name of its leader in Lok Sabha, there would be a clamour for party leader Rahul Gandhi to assume the key role.”
Rahul Gandhi won Lok Sabha polls from both Wayanad and Raebareli.
The sources told ANI that party MPs including KC Venugopal, Manickam Tagore and Gaurav Gogoi are expected to make the demand by raising their hands.
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Additionally, it’s noted that the leader of the Congress party in the Lok Sabha will assume the role of Leader of the Opposition in the House, given that the party has secured the necessary number of seats in the general elections.
According to the Congress Constitution, the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Party is empowered to name the party’s leaders in the two Houses of Parliament.
Party sources told ANI that it would depend on Sonia Gandhi if she decided to name Rahul Gandhi as the party’s leader in Lok Sabha or if she opted for another leader. They said there is less expectation of a decision on the issue, and she may also opt to do it later through a press release.
Sonia Gandhi currently holds a membership in the Rajya Sabha, while Mallikarjun Kharge serves as the Leader of the Opposition in the upper House of Parliament.
Earlier in the day, a meeting of the Congress Working Committee is scheduled, where the party is expected to commend its performance in the Lok Sabha polls. The party’s notable improvement, securing 99 seats compared to its previous tallies of 44 and 52 seats in the last two Lok Sabha elections, is likely to be credited to Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge.
Congress fought the election as part of the India bloc and the parties together were able to prevent BJP from getting a majority on its own in Lok Sabha. The BJP-led NDA won 293 in the polls.
ANI further reported citing Congress sources that the party is likely to express its resolve to fight on issues concerning people inside and outside Parliament and a resolution may be adopted by the CWC over the demand for a Joint Parliamentary Committee probe into “the biggest stock market scam”, an issue raised by Rahul Gandhi on Thursday.
Party sources said the resolution is expected to state that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not got the mandate to form the government at the Centre but is doing so.
The day’s agenda includes a meeting of the Extended Congress Working Committee around 11 am, followed by a gathering of the Congress Parliamentary Party, bringing together all newly elected Lok Sabha MPs and Rajya Sabha MPs, scheduled for 5:30 pm in the Central Hall of Parliament.
Additionally, there are plans for a dinner event for extended CWC and CPP members, set to take place at Hotel Ashok at 7 pm.
(With inputs from ANI)
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Published: 08 Jun 2024, 09:19 AM IST