NEW DELHI: Former Congress leader and ex-Union minister Shakeel Ahmad on Sunday said that the outcome of 2022 Congress presidential election was effectively decided by the backing of Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi.Ahmad claimed that when Shashi Tharoor contested for the party president’s post, he wanted to vote for him, but it became clear that Mallikarjun Kharge would win once the Gandhi family openly supported his candidature.Speaking to PTI, Ahmad said the visible support of the Gandhi family made it clear who would eventually win the party’s top post. “When Shashi Tharoor contested for party president, I wanted to vote for him. But when I saw that Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and others were backing Mallikarjun Kharge, it was clear that whoever the family supports will win,” he said.Ahmad’s remarks relate to the Congress presidential election held in October 2022, in which Mallikarjun Kharge emerged as the winner and defeated Shashi Tharoor by a wide margin. Kharge secured 7,897 votes against Tharoor’s 1,072, with around 9,500 party delegates participating in the internal poll.The former Congress leader also renewed his sharp attack on Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, describing him as an “insecure” political figure and accusing him of undermining internal democracy within the party.“Rahul Gandhi is an insecure political leader, I have not seen such insecurity in my life. He dislikes both kinds of leaders: those who have grassroots influence and those who are charismatic and attract people,” Ahmad said.Ahmad, who resigned from the Congress in November last year, alleged that decision-making in the party was concentrated around Rahul Gandhi and that senior leaders were being sidelined. He has previously accused Rahul of being uncomfortable working with leaders who have independent influence or long political experience and of promoting younger leaders who align closely with him.The controversy has drawn a sharp response from the BJP, which seized on Ahmad’s remarks to target the Congress leadership. BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Ahmad’s statements had “exposed” Rahul Gandhi’s leadership style.“Shakeel Ahmed, who was also a minister, made many revelations. He explained how Rahul Gandhi is an insecure leader. How Rahul Gandhi wants a strong Congress but doesn’t want strong Congressmen, and how the Congress party, while proclaiming to the whole world that it is democratic and adheres to the constitution, neither follows the constitution nor practices democracy within the party,” Poonawalla said.He further claimed that Ahmad’s comments reflected a broader sentiment within the Congress. “One thing is clear: Rahul Gandhi plays the biggest role in destroying the Congress, and this is not just Shakeel Ahmed’s opinion but the sentiment echoed by every Congress leader,” the BJP spokesperson added.
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