Milind Deora (L) and Jyotiraditya Scindia (R)

NEW DELHI: At once indicative of the churn in Congress and the cross currents at work following Rahul Gandhi ’s resignation, young leaders Jyotiraditya Scindia and Milind Deora quit their organisational posts over “accountability” for the Lok Sabha defeat.

Deora stepped down as president of Mumbai City Congress while Scindia resigned as AICC general secretary in-charge of western UP. Congress was crushed on both the turfs. Deora became the Mumbai chief in the thick of Lok Sabha polls while Scindia was given the charge of UP along with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra just before the elections.

The resignations of the Congress Gennext are important for their timing, as they come a day after Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh publicly advocated that a young leader should take over the reins of Congress, a remark seen as putting a spanner in the plans to anoint a veteran at the top.

Insiders termed Sunday resignations, especially Scindia’s, as “indicative and important”. Wondering if it was part of a plan, a senior office-bearer said if Priyanka too quit, it would force everybody to follow suit.

The development put the seniors on their toes amid concerns there could be a full-blown crisis.

Since Rahul made his resignation final last week, Congress veterans have been holding consultations and soliciting the views of CWC members and veterans to find a consensus candidate. The view is that going into the CWC meeting without narrowing down on a consensus candidate could trigger an unending debate that would be politically corrosive and may intensify the sense of chaos post-defeat.

While there are speculations about the timing of the CWC meeting, Congress may decide the date formally on Monday. Deora and Scindia made it clear that they had resigned a few days ago after meeting Rahul.

Crucially, Deora said he was looking forward to playing a role in national Congress. Besides the timing, their decision to flag “accountability” is set to put pressure on senior Congress leaders to follow suit. It was suggested by Rahul in his four-page letter.

While a senior leader cited the crisis in Karnataka, where the coalition government is on the brink as a result of the leadership confusion, an office-bearer said concerns were rife about the regime in MP where the government has a narrow cushion. While announcing his resignation, Deora recommended a collegium of three senior leaders to oversee the city unit for the upcoming assembly polls.



In Video: Jyotiraditya Scindia resigns as general secretary of AICC