‘Not easy for Rahul to balance young and old in party’
United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Friday said Congress president Rahul Gandhi faces a tough task of striking a balance between the party’s old guard and the GenNext.
“He wants a balance of young and seniors. It is not an easy task. But he has made it clear that he values the role and contributions of seniors in the party,” she said, addressing the India Today conclave in Mumbai. “He wants to revitalise the party by bringing in new faces with senior leaders.”
Rahul Gandhi is expected to form a new team at the party’s three-day plenary session in New Delhi, beginning March 16. Gandhi also stressed the need to develop a new style of connecting with people at the organisational level. Asked if she advises her son, the former Congress chief said, “He knows his responsibilities. I am there if he needs me. I try not to volunteer.”
A candid Gandhi said she has found more time for herself after demitting the party president’s office in December last year. “I have more time for myself... to read and watch movies. I am also tidying up old papers of my mother-in-law (Indira Gandhi) and husband (Rajiv Gandhi). I will digitalise them. The papers are letters written by my mother-inlaw to her son and his replies. They are of sentimental value for me,” she said.
On criticism of Rahul not being in the country during the counting of votes in northeastern states on March 3, Sonia said he went to see his grandmother in Italy for three days after doing his rounds of electioneering. On her daughter Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s political role, the Congress parliamentary party chairperson said Priyanka, till now, has restricted herself to managing Rae Bareli and Amethi during polls. “At the moment, she is preoccupied with her children. It is up to her and one never knows the future,” said Gandhi.
Asked if there was a chance of a leader from outside the Gandhi family heading the Congress, she said, “Why not? In the future, there may well be.” Will the Congress survive without a Gandhi? She said the question should be put to party workers.
NEW DELHI: