Rahul Gandhi Resigns as Congress Leader After India Election Debacle
The grandson of the late Indira Gandhi took responsibility for Congress’s dismal result in the recent national election.
(Bloomberg) -- Rahul Gandhi announced his resignation as leader of India’s opposition Congress party, taking responsibility for its dismal result in the recent national election, which saw Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned for a second term with an increased majority.
"Rebuilding the party requires hard decisions and numerous people have to be made accountable for the failure of 2019," Gandhi wrote in a letter released Wednesday. "It would be unjust to hold others accountable but ignore my own responsibility as president of the party," the letter read.
The grandson of the late Indira Gandhi -- and great-grandson of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru -- lost one of the two seats he contested. Congress only won a few more seats than it took in 2014, which was its worst performance since India’s independence.
Gandhi said he fought Modi and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party’s ideological mentor -- to defend the ideals India was built upon. "At times, I stood completely alone and am extremely proud of it," he wrote. "Our democracy has been fundamentally weakened."
To contact the reporter on this story: Archana Chaudhary in New Delhi at achaudhary2@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Ruth Pollard at rpollard2@bloomberg.net
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