Congress Working Committee rejects Rahul Gandhi’s resignation after 2019 defeat

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) has accepted the verdict of the 2019 Lok Sabha election and unanimously turned down an offer by party president Rahul Gandhi to resign, according to a resolution it adopted after the defeat.

Rahul Gandhi’s offer

The resolution said Gandhi offered to step down as president in his address to the committee, but members rejected the offer with one voice and asked him to continue leading the party. They urged him to take up the causes of young people, farmers, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and OBCs, minorities and the poor.

Introspection and overhaul

The committee thanked the 12.13 crore voters who backed the Congress, as well as party workers, candidates and allies. It said the party would act as a constructive opposition, raise people’s concerns and hold the government to account. Acknowledging failures and shortcomings, it called for deep introspection and asked Gandhi to carry out a complete overhaul and restructuring of the party at every level, with a plan to be put in place soon. The party had lost the election, the resolution said, but its fighting spirit and commitment to its ideology were intact.

Challenges for the new government

The CWC listed issues it said the incoming government must deal with urgently:

• rising oil prices after the sanctions on Iran, and general price rise;
• bad loans in banks which it said had climbed to nearly 12 lakh crores over five years, and doubts about the health of NBFCs;
• a slowing economy, weak private investment, falling consumption and a jobs crisis;
• farm distress and severe drought, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra and Karnataka;
• concerns over the integrity of institutions and social tensions.

What happened next

Rahul Gandhi went on to resign as Congress president in July 2019, and Sonia Gandhi became interim president in August 2019.

See also: political leaders

Originally published on 25 May 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

Share on Facebook

Tweet

Follow us