Pranab’s daughter walks back criticism of Rahul’s leadership

NEW DELHI: Thrilled at Congress’s performance in Lok Sabha elections, Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President and Congress stalwart Pranab Mukherjee, said the outcome of the 2024 contest has restored the party to a strong position and vindicated the leadership of Rahul Gandhi. This marks a significant reassessment after her earlier critical remarks in the run-up to the polls, when she suggested that Congress needed to look beyond the Gandhi family.

Sharmistha told TOI that Congress may have lost the elections for the third time and is still in the opposition, but it got a big tally of seats. “I will consider this the emergence of Rahul Gandhi as the leader,” she said.

Lest her appreciation of Congress is taken as a sign of her renewed political ambitions, she added, “As a Congress supporter, I am extremely happy, but I have no intention of coming back to politics.”

These words from Sharmistha would delight Congress which was discomfited by her strong criticism ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Releasing her father’s biography in Feb, she lit into Rahul and his leadership for two successive abysmal electoral failures, and slammed Congress. Her remarks triggered retaliation from Congress functionaries.

Walking back her criticism, Sharmistha said she has not resigned from the party’s primary membership and considers herself a Congress person and firmly believes in its ideology. “I was disappointed with Rahul Gandhi, and the way the party was going. But as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Congress did surprisingly well in this election, and I am very happy,” she said.

Sharmistha acknowledged that Congress lost the 2024 elections but recalled what she said is also mentioned in her book on Pranab Mukherjee. “I asked my father in 2019, ‘what are the prospects of Congress in the election?’ He said, ‘If Congress gets 88 seats, I will consider it as the emergence of Rahul as the leader’. I think he meant 88 as double of 44 seats that Congress won in 2014. Now, Congress has got more than double of 2014, so obviously...”

She said while Pranab was critical of Rahul, she also wrote “if my father was alive, he would have appreciated Rahul’s Bharat Jodo Yatra, his tenacity and resilience”.

Sharmistha said she is a Congress person and would be “extremely happy if Rahul or anyone emerges as the leader in Congress”. She added, “Let me put it this way. Whatever my criticism, I would be happy to be proved wrong.”

She said, “As an ordinary citizen, I want a strong opposition. As a Congress person, I want Congress to get back to its original glory. Whoever can revive the party, Gandhis or else, it does not matter. If the Gandhis can lead successfully, it is very good.”

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