Natwar Singh Backs Priyanka for Congress Chief, Says Party Will Split Under a Non-Gandhi

On Sunday, senior Congress leader Natwar Singh became the newest party figure to back Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as Congress president, as the party grappled with a leadership vacuum after Rahul Gandhi’s resignation. He warned that the party would break apart if someone from outside the Gandhi family took charge.

Praise for the Sonbhadra visit

Singh praised Priyanka for her visit to Sonbhadra, where 10 people were shot dead last week. “It was amazing. She stayed there and achieved what she wanted to,” he told the news agency ANI. On Friday she had been taken into preventive custody and prevented from meeting the families of the 10 Gond tribals killed, which led to a stand-off with Uttar Pradesh’s BJP government.

‘Family must reverse decision’

Singh said that although Rahul Gandhi had declared nobody from the family would become party president, the Gandhis would now have to reverse that decision, and only they could do so. He said that if anyone from outside the family were chosen, the Congress would split within 24 hours, and called it unfortunate that a 134-year-old party was without a president.

Growing calls for Priyanka

Others have also spoken up for her. Former MP Abhijit Mukherjee, son of former president Pranab Mukherjee, urged her to heed the call of party workers across the country. Former Union minister Anil Shastri said on Twitter that the party’s survival required a president soon, that nobody was better suited than Priyanka, and that the AICC should elect her.

The Congress had yet to choose a successor after Rahul made public his resignation, taking moral responsibility for the Lok Sabha defeat. The party won 52 seats, only eight more than the 44 it won in 2014.

What happened next

Rahul Gandhi resigned as Congress president in July 2019, and Sonia Gandhi became interim president in August 2019. Mallikarjun Kharge was elected party president in October 2022.

See also: Congress | Political leaders

Originally published on 22 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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