G23 leaders
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Group-23 leaders, also known as G23, refers to a group of 23 leaders of the Indian Congress party who have become prominent due to their effort to push for an overhaul within the Congress party organizational structure in August 2020.[1] This group of Congress loyalists have been at the forefront of bringing internal democracy within the party.[2]
History[edit]
Historically, the Congress party has been led by the Nehru-Gandhi family members at the top leadership since independence of India in 1947. However, following the assassination of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, the party has been consistently declining in popularity. This decline of Congress accelerated after 2014 with the election of Narendra Modi as the prime minister of India with a spree of losses in local body, state and general elections since then. The loss of 2019 elections acted as a catalyst with voices from within the Congress party increasingly calling for a restructuring of the party organization based on a democratic set up rather than the dynastic inheritance of the Gandhi family.[3] A group of 23 senior leaders from the party wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi seeking immediate action on the party's organizational structure that was increasingly getting marginalized at state and national level due to consecutive electoral losses.[4] However this was not seen positively among other members of the Congress who saw them being opportunistic. The then Congress party president Rahul Gandhi went on to call them as BJP insiders in the Congress. Ever since then there has been a 'cold war' between the Gandhi family loyalists and G23 group with the former accusing the latter of betrayal whenever they point out to electoral losses under Gandhi family leadership, particularly Rahul Gandhi.[5] In recent years there have been several efforts through meetings and dialogue between G23 leaders and Congress President Sonia Gandhi for reconcliation, however there hasnt been any breakthrough.[6][7] After the recent debacle in the 5 state elections the G23 group met again in March 2022 to discuss the way forward. Amidst a war of words between Rajasthan CM, Ashok Genlot and Senior leader Kapil Sibbal, the CM stated that Sibbal was an outsider and didnt have knowledge about the party. Meanwhile former MP Sandeep Dikshit said that the Congress president should have accessibility, acceptability and accountability[8]
The G23 list[edit]
The list of 23 leaders voicing for change within the Congress are as below, the most vocal being Ghulam Nabi Azad and Kapil Sibal.
- Bhupinder Singh Hooda (Haryana)
- Rajinder Kaur Bhattal (Punjab)
- Marpadi Verappa Moily (Karnataka)
- Prithviraj Chavan (Maharashtra)
- Ghulam Nabi Azad (Jammu and Kashmir)
- Kapil Sibal (Delhi)
- Manish Tewari (Punjab)
- Vivek Tankha (Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh)
Others[edit]
Mukul Wasnik, Jitin Prasada, former Union Ministers Anand Sharma, PJ Kurian, Ajay Singh, Renuka Chaudhary and Milind Deora, MP Shashi Tharoor and Sandeep Dixit. Former PCC chiefs Raj Babbar (UP), Arvinder Singh Lovely (Delhi) and Kaul Singh Thakur (Himachal) are also part of the letter which has been signed by former Haryana Speaker Kuldeep Sharma and former Delhi Speaker Yoganand Shastri.
Politics[edit]
The G23 leaders were accused of colluding with BJP by then Congress President Rahul Gandhi, and slowly sidelined within the party as new generation youth took charge. They were also taunted for speaking the language of the BJP/RSS. Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary called them ehsaan faramosh (ungrateful). Some predicted G23 leaders will joining TMC, however so far only Jitin Prasad left the Congress to join the BJP[9]
References[edit]
- ↑ "What is Group-23 or G-23 ? All you need to know about the leaders seeking organisational overhaul in Congress". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ↑ "Dissent in Congress: Rahul hits out at G23, says he was attacked by his party people". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ↑ "What is Group-23 or G-23 ? All you need to know about the leaders seeking organisational overhaul in Congress". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ↑ "Exclusive: Complete Text Of Congress "Letter Bomb" And Its Big Points". NDTV.com. Retrieved 2022-03-22.
- ↑ "Shashi Tharoor talks about Rahul Gandhi; says why he had signed G-23 letter". Hindustan Times. 2021-12-23. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
- ↑ "G23 Congress rebels arrive for meeting at 10 Janpath as Sonia Gandhi reaches out". India Today. December 19, 2020. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
- ↑ "Sonia Gandhi meets 3 G23 leaders in peace effort, they tell her don't rely on select few". The Indian Express. 2022-03-23. Retrieved 2022-05-09.
- ↑ "Congress dissenters meet at Azad's residence after poll debacle". Business Standard India. 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-05-11.
- ↑ "Faceoff: War of words between Gandhi loyalists and G-23 'dissenters' escalates to Twitter | India News - Times of India". The Times of India. Sep 30, 2021. Retrieved 2022-03-17.
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